The Relativity of Easy
by Maejones
Summary: Leem and Fil (MI6 bodyguards) from my other fic, "Merely Players" go on a road trip with Sherlock in Slovakia so this is a follow up to that story, heavy on the OCs with a love story for Leem. This came from a REQUEST from a fan of the boys. Read "Merely Players" first for a background but otherwise, this stands alone. Established Sherlolly (married) peaks.
1. Chapter 1

_Of course, I don't own Sherlock but Leem and Fil are entirely my own creation. Please read my other fiction, "Merely Players", to get an idea about how Sherlock met them and their importance in his world. Otherwise, you might miss some references. This was a story I was requested to write. In it, Leem finds some happiness._

 _Check me out on Tumblr to see pics of Leem and Fil. I am mae-jones on that site._

 **Chapter 1 - The rocky start**

Sushi Tang was always busy. Fil was glad he ordered everything at once because the staff was especially run off their feet this afternoon. He stuffed another piece of California roll in his mouth and followed it up with a slug of tea. He glowered down at his empty cup and held it up until the waitress took note and nodded an acknowledgement. He hoped he didn't have to wait too long. He felt restless nearly every moment these days. He studied his older sibling's perpetual scowl. Well, at least he wasn't as pent-up as his brother.

"Who is this bird we're supposed ta guard this next week, by the way?" He asked.

His brother Leem swallowed his mouthful of food. "I dunno the lady, she's a math teacher or something."

Fil stuck his lip out. "A teacher, ack. No fun. She'll try ta tell us we can't speak worth shite."

Leem set down his chopsticks and picked his teeth with his fingernail. "We can't speak worth shite, Fil, and we should just keep our mouths shut, right? No need to get to know 'er. We just gotta make sure she's safe for a few days."

Fil wrinkled his nose. "She in trouble?"

"Ah, the boss says she cracked some code or something. It's just a few weeks til they sort it out and then she ain't in danger anymore."

"Nah, if she's a code-cracker, she'll always be in trouble. If she's on one side, the other'll want ta whack her."

Leem rolled his eyes. "Well, she won't be our problem then. A couple days, Myc said. We escort her to a safe house and it's outta our hands. Easy job. Oh, and Sherlock Holmes is our guide. Apparently, he knows 'is way round the Roma."

Fil scrunched up his face and groaned. Anybody but him!

"Sherlock Holmes! I thought ya said this was going to be an easy job."

* * *

"This is the transportation you selected?" Sherlock frowned at the car parked at the curb.

Fil yanked open the door and gestured to the leather interior. "Yeah, what's wrong wit it? Not posh enough for ya?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes as he raised a brow. "I don't even have my own car. I care little for my conveyance, unless it's an aircraft. Then it's private, or first class, or not at all and that's because I can't stand . . . ug . . . people. However, we're supposed to arrive inconspicuously to one of the poorest Roma districts in all of Europe and you want to roll up to the infamous Linuk ghetto in a brand new Mercedes S63?"

Fil frowned at the beautiful silver sedan. He poked his lips to one side as he envisioned the reaction of the people in the slum. He sighed. He hated when Mr. Holmes was right.

"Damn. I was lookin' forward ta driving that," He rubbed a hand over his shorn locks. "All Myc said was ta get an appropriate car and that I could spend a couple thousand quid."

Sherlock's nose twitched as he looked down it. "He meant for you to buy one locally here in Bratislava, not rent one."

Fil furrowed his brow even deeper. He needed a freakin' interpreter for the Holmes. They always spoke in riddles and doublespeak. They made a game out of confusing everyone. It was enough to make him spit.

"Yeah, but two-thousand quid will only buy a piece of shite . . ."

Sherlock huffed a breath and gestured with his finger as if compelling him to speed up his thoughts. "Yes, yes, yes."

Fil scratched his temple. "Well, crap. Yeah, I get it now. I just thought . . ."

"Don't think. You're barely competent at it. Speaking of barely competent, where is your better half, Leem?" He glanced around.

Fil bunched his hands at his sides. Leem had all the luck.

"The teacher wanted a coffee. 'E took her to get one."

Sherlock flipped up his collar and buttoned his jacket as the wind picked up. "Location?"

Leem pointed towards a small building sandwiched between two others. "The café down the street."

"Then that's where you can pick us up once you find a replacement vehicle."

Fil growled. If his boss wouldn't turf him, he'd sucker punch his little brother.

"What would ya have me purchase, sire?"

Sherlock crooked a brow. "Picture the exact opposite of this vehicle. Something Mycroft wouldn't be caught dead in."

Fil grumbled at his back as he started to walk away. Sherlock took a few steps and then stopped and half-turned. His lips parted and he squinted.

"Fil, when I say opposite, you understand that it needs to make a four hour journey through the heart of Slovakia?"

"Ahm not a total fuck-up, Mr. Holmes," he said as he rounded the car to the driver's side. "Ya can trust me to do a good job."

Sherlock frowned at him over the top of his upturned collar. "Mr. Coley, I specifically requested you and your brother for this assignment. I do not make mistakes, ergo, my trust in your capabilities should be implicit. Now, go fetch us a transport, erm . . . please?"

Fil stopped and thought about what Mr. Holmes had just said. It was a compliment of sorts and he hadn't ever had one from the prat!

He grinned. "On it, Mr. Holmes."

* * *

Leem peeked up from his tablet at the woman he was supposed to be protecting, the _'much too young to be a Professor'_ Katherine Adams. She wasn't a typical beauty by any stretch of the imagination but there was something appealing about her face all the same. Maybe it was because she was so damn English in appearance. He reminded her of the girls growing up that were always the plain friend of the type he'd typically date- quiet, bookish, nervous but usually warm to whomever bothered to talk to them.

She had large eyes somewhere between amber and brown framed by long, black lashes and straight, unfussy brows. Her hair was a dark honey blonde, parted to one side that hung to her shoulders in a layered yet practical cut. She had a narrower oval face, a longer than probably fashionable nose that came to a bit of a point and a kind of crooked smile. Her top lip was a bit thin but her bottom lip was full and feminine and pink and . . . he shook himself. He spoke before he realized what was coming out of his mouth.

"You're going ta stick out from the gypsies like a sore thumb."

She blinked at him over her coffee and then set it down slowly. "Oh, I don't know. They aren't all dark haired and dark skinned, you know, and gypsy is kind of derogatory. I think they prefer Roma, if you have to label them at all. They're just people."

Leem's face heated. What a great start! She thought he was an ignorant pig. Well, he might as well establish that sooner than later. He took a breath.

"Yeah, I don' know much about them, I guess. Where we're going, they're pretty poor, right? Ya think you can handle that?"

When she smiled a dimple danced in her cheek. "Well, it's not like being poor is a disease, is it? And if it is, it's a curable one, wouldn't you agree? I'm not worried. If Sherlock Holmes thinks that Linuk is the safest place for me right now, then I'll make due. I've been around a bit, you know. I haven't just been scribbling on a chalkboard at Cambridge."

Leem cleared his throat. This was going from bad to worse.

"Yea, alright. No offense. You just seem like ya grew up around Holland Park or somethin'."

She smirked. "I grew up in a duplex in Didcot with my single Dad but thank you for the compliment. I've been trying to pass myself off as a spoiled rich girl from London for ages. It's a lot easier for people to accept than that I earned my way to university."

 _"Christ!"_ He thought. _"I need ta shut my trap."_

The door to the café opened then, and a breeze heralded the arrival of Sherlock Holmes. Leem swallowed. He was never happier to see that arrogant git in his life. Katherine looked warily over her shoulder at him. She leaned forward.

"Oh, good God, here we go," she whispered conspiratorially. "Is it just me, or is he the biggest prick you've ever had the misfortune to meet? Do you know one of the first things he did when we met was critique my graduate thesis?"

Leem shrugged. "Um, yea, 'e fancies himself pretty clever. I hope 'e wasn't right."

She scrunched up her nose adorably. "No, he was right, the arrogant ass, but a girl doesn't want to hear it. I would rather he picked apart my outfit, for pity's sake. My vanity wouldn't have suffered nearly so much."

Leem laughed and knew he was in trouble. He liked Ms. Adams. A lot. Damn.


	2. Chapter 2

"How much did you say you paid for this car?"

Fil raised his chin. "Five 'undred euro."

Sherlock rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath.

" _'You can trust me to do a good job, Mr. Holmes'_ ," he mocked Fil in a sing-song voice. " _'I'm not a . . .'_ what was your charming phrase? Ah, yes. A _'fuck-up?_ '"

Leem poked his head from underneath the hood of the little Skoda Felicia. "It's just a slipped belt, Mr. Holmes. I'll rig it fer now and we'll limp along to the next town. Nitra is the place, I think. This is a common enough car for 'round here. It should be an easy enough ta track down a replacement part."

Katherine watched the scene unfold with some amusement. They'd only driven an hour before their small hatchback had broken down. She was secretly delighted that Sherlock Holmes was quite irritated. He rarely opened his mouth during the voyage except to tell one or both the brothers to "shut it" or "do shut up", so this was a good dose of karma for the cranky arse.

"A slipped belt, Mr. Coley?" She fawned loudly just to annoy Sherlock. "That's bloody brilliant. You found it so quickly!"

Leem turned and rewarded her with a dazzling smile. Sherlock huffed. Katherine grinned to herself as she watched Leem tinker with the car.

She never would have thought someone like Leem Coley would appeal to her but he was god-awfully good looking for a bodyguard. His eyes were a dark, greyish green as if they unilaterally decided not to resemble any other colour known to man. His face was all rugged manliness with a determined jaw and nose that had been broken and fixed who knows how many times. She longed to rub a hand over his super-short, dark ash hair to see if it felt like stroking velvet. Every inch of him was hard and trim and muscular and so very . . . raw. He was just a hair shorter than both Sherlock and his brother Fil but she wouldn't bet against him in a fight.

She blushed thinking about all the things she'd have him do to her if she was bold enough to demand them. For starters, if they were alone together, she'd slam the hood of the car shut and bend over it. She gulped in a breath and fanned her face. Oh, Lord, there was no use in thinking such licentious thoughts. She glanced at Leem's taut arse one last time. No use at all . . .

"Are you overheated as well, Miss Adams?" Sherlock asked unexpectedly at her side.

Heat flooded her face like a cloud of gas combusting. She turned her head to one side so her hair hid her face. The self-proclaimed consulting detective's ability to read one's innermost thoughts was beyond mortifying. If she wasn't such an adherent to the rational doctrine of scientific thought, she'd swear he was psychic.

"That's D-Dr. Adams, to you, Mr. H-Holmes," she stuttered, "and yes, I do feel a bit like Moses wandering the desert. I haven't seen another car pass by for some time."

"Hmm, I thought you were looking a little parched," he said in a low tone.

She crossed her arms and finally turned to smile wryly at him. She looked him up and down with brows raised. She wasn't going to let him get away with amusing himself with his little double entendres at her expense. She didn't lack entirely of wit herself.

She flicked her hair back and met his gaze deliberately. "Oh, don't concern yourself with me. I'm rather like a camel that way. I can go without for a very long time."

He smirked and then laughed out loud. "Indeed, Dr. Adams, but even camels need to quench their thirst when an oasis becomes available."

She laughed as well then out of a need to release some tension. She couldn't hate Sherlock Holmes for all his veiled jabs. In fact, she just gained a little respect for the man in their exchange. Despite all his apparent unconcern for others, he seemed to be well-attuned to picking up on people's feelings.

"Tell me, Mr. Holmes," she asked quietly enough that neither of the boys would hear, "as a thirsty traveler, if I were to stop for a drink, would I find anyone jealously guarding, erm, that particular watering hole?"

Sherlock's lip twitched. "No, I believe it is yet unclaimed."

Katherine pressed her lips together and nodded. So, Mr. Leem Coley was single. She wasn't sure what she meant to do about that. She wasn't looking for a relationship; that was for damn sure. She was in a world of trouble for being too curious for her own good and her life would be upended for some time, if not forever. No, she wanted to flirt and feel feminine and not worry about anyone getting ideas of attachment. Leem fit that bill perfectly. He wouldn't want to be encumbered, not in his line of work.

Tonight would be her last evening staying in a nice hotel before she was entrusted to strangers. That was, if they managed to repair this hunk of junk. Maybe, just maybe, she could have a bit of fun that night.

Fil fired up the car then. Leem rose and jerked the hood closed.

"Alright, let's get outta 'ere while she still cooperates."

* * *

Katherine nibbled a sandwich as she watched her three travelling companions argue outside the café window. She could hear a little of what they were going on about but rather than upset her, she was secretly delighted. From the gist of it, it sounded as if the part they needed for the car wouldn't be available until the next morning which meant she'd gained another day's reprieve before she had to disappear into the slums.

Finally, the three of them seemed to come to some sort of agreement. She watched Leem break away and head towards the café entrance. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth quickly, swallowed her food and smoothed her hair. Funny how boldly coming to the decision to try to seduce a man made her feel like a nervous wreck. She took a breath and smiled up at him as he approached her and then slipped into the chair across the table.

"Well, the car's busted til' tomorrow. We's going ta have to stay here in Nitra tonight."

Katherine shrugged and tried not to grin. "Oh, well, darn!"

"Sorry, Miss, I mean, Dr. Adams."

She licked her lips anxiously. "Um, call me Katherine or Kate or . . ."

A smile tugged the corner of his decadently full lips. She wrinkled her nose and silently berated them for being so appealing.

"Can I call ya Kat?"

She nodded quickly. No one had ever called her Kat. Oh, she liked that. A lot.

He winked. "Then you must call me Leem. Nah more of this Mr. Coley nonsense. I never know if you're talking to me or ma brother."

"Alright, Leem it is."

"There's a hotel just down the way. I'll walk ya there when you're done."

"I can't eat another bite," she proclaimed. "I already paid my bill. We can go now."

Katherine blinked a couple times as he stood and offered his elbow. She felt as if she'd been transported to a different century. Who acted so chivalrously these days anyways? She hesitantly took his arm. He tucked her elbow closer to his body which had the effect of drawing her right next to his hard frame. She looked up at him. He might not be more than five foot eleven and a solid 13 and a half stone, but he made her feel positively fragile at five-two, one hundred and ten pounds.

She sucked in a breath. She was mad! Mad! She wasn't the flirty type. What made her think it would be simple to just turn on the charm and he'd succumb to her wiles? How the heck was she going to seduce Leem when she trembled like a kitten next to him? He may as well call her scardey-Kat!

"Are ya chilly?" He asked as they walked down the street.

She shook her head. She glanced away as heat flushed her face.

"I'm perfectly warm, thank you," she murmured.

"But you are shakin', Kat. I can give you my jacket."

"No," she protested. "I'm fine. I'm – ah – just . . . just anxious! Yes, it's been a frightening few weeks."

He squeezed her arm and slowed his steps. He half turned so that he faced her better.

"You're safe right now, Kat. That I swear. I won' let anyone harm you."

She felt a tremor ripple through her gut. He had such a fierce set to his face. His eyes were constricted ever so slightly, his brows were drawn together and his teeth were clenched. He was ready to do battle. For her.

 _"Oh, Leem, I'm so going to reward you for that,"_ she promised silently.


	3. Chapter 3

Katherine tucked her hair behind her ears as she watched Leem check out every corner of her small hotel room. Her head followed his frame sideways as he kneeled down to inspect the underside of the bed. She could see the strain of every muscle under his hoodie as it pulled taut over his broad back. She flinched as her eyes fell upon a bulbous scar that curved from about halfway down the back of his neck and then disappeared under the collar of his white tee. It told what could only be a stomach-churning tale. Clumsy, erratic pocks paralleled the scar indicative of shoddy stitches performed in haste to close the devastating wound. He had suffered that somewhere far from proper care and it had likely festered.

She had seen such wounds on people in Africa after neighboring villages had a dispute and took it out on each other with machetes. She felt a shudder travel the length of her body. He must have suffered. She gulped back a lump and tried to say something lighthearted.

"What do you think you'll find under there? A monster?" She asked shakily.

Leem looked up from where he kneeled. "One of our agents was done in by a bomb beneath his cot, once. It was a right mess."

She blinked a couple times. "Oh. How dreadful."

He stood and winked. "Don't feel sorry for 'im. He was playing both sides. The bad side caught up ta him."

"Still, what a horrid way to die."

Leem stood and walked towards her with a dark look on his face. Katherine quavered in place. He had a way of making her feel skittish and awkward and breathless . . . very breathless.

"It would help if I knew who ya pissed off," he murmured. "I've studied up on all the groups and their methods. I can better protect you if I know what I'm up against."

Katherine shook her head. Mycroft Holmes had been adamant – the fewer people who knew what she'd entangled herself in, the better. Anyone privy to what she'd stumbled upon was as much of a target as she.

"I'm sorry, Leem. I appreciate everything, I do, but I cannot tell you anything about it."

His brow furrowed. "Is it the Holmes? Did they say we were untrustworthy?"

Her lips parted. "No, not at all. Mycroft said you and Fil were the best, actually. It's just, this is like, the root of all evil we're talking about. Allow me to protect you in return, Leem. I would not want for you or your brother to get hurt on my account."

His cheek jerked as he clenched his jaw momentarily. He looked away briefly and then returned his gaze. His green eyes turned positively black.

"You don' need to protect me. I'm infantry, Kat, a foot soldier. You're intelligence. One of you is worth a thousand of me."

Katherine found herself reach for and then clutch his forearm. He was ludicrous to think such tripe. This man had likely saved a thousand lives. What had she done except get her mentor and half his family killed? It remained to be seen what her discovery brought except death.

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"It's the truth."

Katherine looked down to where his steely forearm flexed beneath her grasp. She was losing her nerve. It seemed such a silly thing to hope for a dalliance with this man when everything was so topsy-turvy.

"No, it's very wrong and I'll not have you repeat such nonsense," she chided. "Just thinking about it gives me an awful headache as your math is terrible. I'm two thirds your size at best. Therefore, if we were going to commoditize our value by mass, you're actually worth more than me by a factor of about 1.65."

Something flickered in his expression when she said that. His eyes scanned her face and lingered on her lips. A small wrinkle appeared in his brow.

"I've never heard a woman speak like you do," he said in a low voice.

A smile lifted the corner of her lips. "Uh, oh, do I sound like a pretentious snot?"

"No, you sound smart. I mean, you are smart but . . . you don't talk down to me."

She laughed nervously. "Should I?"

"Most do."

Katherine felt a jitter in her toes again. She suddenly realized how close they stood. She looked down at where she still held his arm and then back up to his face. Her eyes flitted over his strong brow, lingered on a faint scar just at the top of his right cheek and then skimmed down to his lush lips. They were ridiculous, really. Her hand unconsciously lifted. He caught her wrist mid travel.

"What are you doin'?"

Katherine felt heat flame up her neck and scorch her face. Oh, Lord. He must think her a lunatic. Her lips parted to say something but her words were smothered by a gurgle in her throat. She was mortified. He had the biggest look of confusion on his face. She realized right then that this weird connection she felt to him was completely one sided. Forget the assassins who had tried to off her, she was going to die from embarrassment.

"I-I . . . I'm so sorry . . .sorry. That was inappropriate."

She glanced at where she gripped him again. Why couldn't she let go? Her damn hand wasn't obeying her commands. In fact, it tightened on his arm. Another wave of heat flushed her face. It had to be purple by that time. She closed her eyes a moment. Then she felt his hand gently lower her extended arm and his thumb brush across the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. Her eyes flew open to see an intense look of heat on his face.

He coaxed her forwards with a slight tug on her wrist. His other hand lifted and settled on her hip with her still clinging to the arm above it. He loomed over her a few seconds, his expression full of question as her body came into contact with the hard length of his. She felt his warm breaths pulse against her skin.

"Am I touched in the head or am I right an' you wan' ta kiss me?" He asked gruffly.

She nodded quickly and licked her lips.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "I'm goin' ta get sacked for this."

Katherine opened her mouth to contradict him but his lips came down on her like a crashing branch. The sudden fierceness of his kiss had hers parting even further in surprise. He took it as an invite and plunged his tongue into her depths. Her hold finally abandoned his arm and snaked up behind his neck and she responded to him like a wild animal released from its bonds. His large hand spread out over her back, it practically spanned her entire midsection as he pressed her to him. His other hand crept up to the side of her neck and cupped her jaw where his thumb feathered across the artery at her neck.

It was good. So good. His lips were full and supple against hers, yet firm and demanding. His tongue was greedy as it stroked along hers like wet velvet and he was hot like standing near a run-away inferno. She groaned in protest as he came up for air.

"Christ," he kissed her briefly. "Don' make sounds like that. I'll forget myself."

She stroked a hand over his closely cropped hair. It was every bit as soft as she had imagined.

"Oh, please do . . ."

He kissed her one last time then gripped her upper arms and set her away from him. His chest heaved as he looked at her guiltily.

"Kat, I'm sorry. I can't."

She pressed her lips together. His rejection stung. She was supposed to have been irresistible. He was supposed to have lost his mind, flung her down on the bed and shagged her into oblivion. She felt herself clench at the thought. She was going to have to run a very cold shower. He dropped his eyes a moment as he regained his breath. When he looked back up, his expression was remorseful. Her stomach contracted. She hated that she made him feel bad.

 _"God, I'm such an ass!"_ She thought even as she was beyond disappointed.

"Ack, don' give me that look. I . . . just can't. It's not honorable. I couldn't take advantage and then look at ma self in the mirror tomorrow."

Katherine shrugged out of his hold. "It's fine. It's okay. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have expected for you to just fall into bed with me . . ."

His eyes flew open and he stepped back uncertainly. Both his hands rubbed over his head.

"You wanted me to take you to bed?" He sputtered. "Jesus Christ!"

Katherine's face heated again. She was going to blister at this rate. She spun away. Mortification didn't even begin to cover what she felt.

"Kat . . . Katherine . . ."

She half-turned and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Leem. You can go, really. Please, don't worry about it. I won't say anything and certainly won't ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with again."

"Aarg," he sighed. "I've cocked this up! Shite!"

She looked at him one last time. She swallowed as she tried not to cry.

"See you tomorrow, okay?"

He still had a dumbfounded look on his face. He seemed to want to say something but then just nodded and backed away towards the door.

"Yeah, tomorrow. Um, night, Kat."

He was half-way out the door before she could respond.

"Goodnight."

* * *

"What the hell is wrong wit you?" Fil asked. "Ya look a little green."

Leem sat down hard on the hotel room's pull out couch. Sherlock looked up from the paper he read. Leem felt his eyes scan him. His face warmed. No doubt, the git had already sorted out exactly what had just happened.

"I believe that's his behavior you've observed, Fil."

Fil's brow twisted. "What tha hell are you on about?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes and snapped the paper back up. "I don't know why I ever worried about either one of you around Molly."

Fil redirected his attention back to Leem "Well, what's the look then?"

Leem glared at his younger brother. He wanted to punch him just to release some pent up energy.

"Why don' you go make yourself useful an' check the route."

Fil grinned. "How 'bout the teacher?"

Leem glowered at him. "I just come from there. She's . . . fine."

Fil wagged his brows. "She's that, I agree."

Heat prickled his face again. "Don't go over there."

Fil stuck his lip out. "What if she needs somethin'?"

Leem sat forward. "She don' need anything from you. Ya hear? An' don't go offerin' ta help her wit anything either."

He heard a shuffling of paper and then the sardonic baritone of Sherlock as he murmured. "Perhaps Fil's help is just what she needs."

Leem turned his gaze back to Sherlock. "Shut it, you tosser. Don' you think ta go over there either."

Sherlock's face darkened as he folded his hands together. Light glinted off the simple gold band encircling his ring finger. He had that murderous look in his eye. He didn't take kindly to the insult against him but probably more importantly, his missus. Leem bit the inside of his lip. Yup, stupid thing to say.

"I'm sorry Mr. Holmes. Sorry! Forget I said that. I'm just a fuckin' idiot . . ."

Sherlock's narrowed eyes relaxed. "Yes, you are."


	4. Chapter 4

"I would advise against your current inclination, Leem."

Leem flopped his head to the side and looked over at where Sherlock Holmes sat.

The man was not of this world. Now, Leem didn't believe in aliens, but he was sure if ever there was one was disguised and hiding amongst the human ranks, it was this fellow who billed himself as the world's only consulting detective. The man rarely ate. He never slept. Yet, he could be explosively dangerous in a heartbeat.

"How did ya know I was awake?"

"The disquiet of your thoughts is disturbing my peace. Go to sleep, Leem. Your snoring would be less deafening and infinitely less annoying than what's rattling around inside your skull."

Leem sat up with a huff. "Maybe if I didn't 'ave to share a double wit Fil when there's a perfectly good spare goin' ta waste, I could sleep better."

Sherlock flicked his fingers at the second, unused bed in the hotel room. "It's all yours."

Leem looked at his brother, face down and drooling into the pillow beside him. He hadn't even moved their entire exchange.

"You know, forget it. I can't sleep anyways. I'm goin' for a walk."

He reached for his hoodie, yanked it on and stepped into his trainers. It was habit for him to be otherwise completely dressed and ready to go at a moment's notice, even when sleeping, during a job. Normally, that meant he'd be outfitted in a simple black suit, black dress shirt and tie but on this case, he'd had to dress down. He, or anyone of them for that matter, would have stuck out like a sore thumb driving around wearing a thousand pound suit in a Skoda that cost a third that price.

"You shouldn't go over there," Sherlock counselled.

Leem turned and glowered at him. "I don' know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. Don't play the idiot with me, Mr. Coley."

Leem seethed and waved his hand dismissively. "I'll do a round and be right back."

"She's still awake. Resist the urge to check in."

Leem groaned. "I have no designs on Kat- I mean, Dr. Adams. I ain't keen to get myself fired, if that's what you're on about."

Sherlock clucked his tongue. "Please, Mycroft can hardly fire you for something he is guilty of himself. No, Leem, you shouldn't go over there because it would reek of hypocrisy."

The man was infuriating. Leem wiped his hand over his hair before he looked at him again. His eye twitched in frustration.

"I know I'm going ta regret this, and I'm not asking 'cause I 'ad any plans to do so, mind. But why?"

A smile revealed his tormentor's white teeth. "You turned her down. No doubt, you claimed it had to do with some trivial moral compunction or something. If you go there now, with nothing having changed except your mind, she'll think you capricious for having abandoned your principles so quickly."

Leem sighed. "Christ almighty, you're an irritatin' prick, you know?"

He shrugged. "I usually am when I'm right."

"So, you're saying she won't . . ."

"Touch you with a ten foot pole right now? Nope, sorry."

Leem groaned. "Fuck. I don't understand women."

"Clearly."

Leem lifted his brow and crossed his arms. "Okay, Mr. Ladykiller, what do you advise I do, then?"

Sherlock huffed. "Mr. Coley, do not mistake my instruction on this matter as any indication that I care at all about facilitating anything between you and Dr. Adams. I seek only to avoid having you embarrass yourself and make the three hour journey we must all complete together even more awkward than it is already going to be."

Leem shook his head. He was fed up and tired of being treated like the excrement underneath the boots of the Holmes.

"You know what? I don't know why I thought you might 'ave anything helpful ta say. I never saw a man 'ave it as easy as you had it with Mrs. Holmes and manage ta mangle it almost beyond repair. If not for her doin' what she did, and caring about you as much as she does, you wouldn't be sitting here today with that smug look on yer face. You'd be a sad, broken man, Mr. Holmes. You might not 'ave an extra care or two to spare, but don' think for a moment you aren't entirely dependent on the cares of others."

He wondered for a moment if Sherlock was going to knock him out for his rant as his eyes contracted (on account he dared mention the missus) but the large man just sat in his chair. In the dim light, it wasn't very easy to gauge his expression. Leem stepped back towards the door, ready to bolt. He knew better than to try to take on the git when Fil wasn't in full form. Finally, Sherlock let out a long stream of air and dipped his head.

"Alright, Leem, I'll concede that point," he murmured.

Leem's mouth fell open. "Y-you will?"

"Yes, but Leem . . ."

Leem took another step towards the door.

Sherlock folded his hands together and sat forward. His eyes glinted dangerously.

"Twice have I let you get away with bringing my wife into our conversations out of deference for the service you provided her. Don't make the mistake of thinking I will allow a third."

Leem nodded quickly. "Fair enough, Mr. Holmes. I'll go now."

"That would be wise."

Leem jogged down the hall, found his way to the exit and down the spiral, metal stairs attached to the building. He walked the far end of the parking lot as he glanced up to the fourth floor of the hotel to the sole room that was still lit from within by a bedside lamp. Despite Sherlock Holmes' advice, he still wanted to go knock on its door but not to try to hook up with Kat. He felt the need to apologize to her for being so miserably clueless.

He sighed. Sherlock was right, though. She wouldn't welcome a visit from him so instead, he concentrated on ensuring their security perimeter remained. He hadn't liked this choice in hotel which well out of the downtown core of the small city. It was too open and accessible in his opinion, but he also hadn't wanted to argue with their exalted leader who thought they should be away from the city and curious eyes.

He studied the large greenspace opposite of the hotel with a wary eye as he stepped from shadow to shadow. He didn't mind the large open field as it made spotting trouble coming easier but then there were the trees. Not a lot of them, but enough to make a true security professional twitch. Any time there were obstacles that provided natural cover, it was so much harder to discern organic shapes within them. That's why Leem preferred urban areas. An assassin trying to move about had a lot harder time blending in against brick and blocks.

He rounded the back of the hotel where their little Skoda sat. Tomorrow they'd have the new belt and they'd be on their way, but as soon as Leem's eyes fell on their hatchback, the hairs bristled on the back of his neck. Instantly, he was on alert and scanned the rear lot. He cursed silently. More trees!

The Skoda had moved. To anyone else, even Mr. Holmes and his keen eye, they might not have seen the difference but Leem could see it plain as day. Not many people knew it, but he had a photographic memory for the measure of things. The car had shifted between the lines by about a half inch and the tread pattern had moved up (he wedged a pebble in one of the grooves earlier). What did that mean for the little car? He didn't know and he didn't care. He wasn't going near it. He still had shrapnel in his back from the last time he'd second guessed himself.

He shifted side to side on his feet and watched as the angle of light from the parking lot lamp changed across the windows of the car. Then he saw a handprint square in the middle of the passenger's side window. A window he'd meticulously cleaned just hours before. He bit the inside of his lip. Yup, someone had braced themselves as they'd rolled the car backwards.

He fished a cigarette package from his pocket and a lighter and lit up a cigarette. He didn't smoke, was a tad allergic to the fumes actually, but it was a handy cover for a late night walk. He took a drag. He felt the eyes on him from the trees. Fuckers! He knew they were up there. He puffed another drag, careful not to inhale. It tasted Godawful but it was better to die a little this way than give himself away and die right fucking then.

Casually, he turned back and sauntered towards the hotel exit he'd left through earlier. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pretended to chuckle at something he saw on the screen and then thumbed in a text which he sent off to Sherlock and his brother Fil.

 _Felicia's been disturbed. There are birds in the trees. Be there in two. If not, get Kat and GET OUT. -L_


	5. Chapter 5

Katherine threw back the covers on her bed when she heard a pounding on the door of her room.

"Who is it?"

"Kat!" A muffled, yet very familiar voice called. "It's me, Leem!"

She hurried to the door and flipped the latch. When she swung it open, Leem stood out on the other side looking very serious and quite winded. His large chest heaved with breaths.

"Thank God," he muttered. "You're alright?"

She frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He gulped in a breath. "Can I come in?"

She stepped aside and swept her arm towards the room. Leem walked by her and spun around. Then he stalked towards the window and yanked the curtains closed. She had seen him irritated (usually with his brother), contemplative (always), amused (at times), in good spirits (mostly), confused (well, aghast really, as in when she threw herself at him) but she had not yet seen him . . . fazed by anything. In fact, it was one of the things she found so very . . . oh, she had to admit it then, HOT, about him. He never seemed afraid. So, she found herself very anxious all of a sudden.

"What's going on?"

His eyes searched around the room. He spied her small suitcase, picked it up and threw it on the bed.

"We've got ta go, I'm afraid," he mumbled. "I think we're found out. You aren't going to be able ta bring this so I need you to pick something comfortable to wear . . ."

His eyes finally came to rest on her dressed in her nightdress. His words died on his lips as he scanned down the length of her body.

Katherine felt heat flush through her face and then spread down her chest to the rest of her body. Actually, her nightdress was more of a long tank. It just barely skimmed the top of her thighs. She stood very upright. If she moved at all, he would probably get an eyeful of her polka dot patterned, lace trimmed knickers.

A slight frown creased his brow and a stormy look crossed his face. He dropped his chin as he came towards her and flicked the spaghetti strap of her nightwear.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

She crossed her arms. "My pajamas."

He glowered. "Pajamas is plural. This is singular. Nah, forget that. It's barely a fraction of clothing. "

She stuck out her bottom lip even as his numbers references made her a little flustered. "What does it matter what I wear to sleep?"

He stepped closer. "You're supposed to be ready to go at a moment's notice."

Kat tucked her bottom lip in. Suddenly, she couldn't resist antagonizing him. She didn't know where her boldness came from but her voice dropped an octave and she leaned towards him.

"Oh, I'm always ready to go."

He pushed a stream of air out and licked his lips. He squinted at her for a moment then took one last step into her space. He bumped into her.

"An' here I thought ya were a good girl, Kat," he muttered as he looked her face over, "but you're not. You're a minx."

She felt a wash of sensation through her abdomen. She lifted her chin. All she wanted him to do was . . . do something! She almost laughed at herself. When had she become so debauched? Like, apparently, they were in some sort of peril and here she was preoccupied with flirting with her bodyguard.

"Do you know many minxes, Leem?"

His nostrils enlarged. "Not one."

"Do you want to?"

"Kat," he said with an exhale as grabbed her upper arms."Aarg . . ."

Then his mouth was on hers and his hands slid up her backside over the curve of her bum under her nightdress. She felt him clutch her tightly against his frame. His fingers brushed along the lace at the waistband of her panties. She made a little sound against his mouth and clutched his shoulders.

 _"Yes, yes, yes . . ."_

The door burst open behind them.

 _"Noooooo!"_

They launched apart, each of them panting heavily. Katherine's face burned as she looked up to see both Fil and Sherlock Holmes enter her room. Mr. Holmes raised his brow towards the ceiling and rolled his eyes.

"Your two minutes are up, Leem," he drawled.

"Oh, crap," he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, My first thought was to come here."

"I see that."

Katherine watched Leem go red in the face.

Fil scoffed. "Is there really a problem with our ride or was this just an excuse ta come over here and bother the doctor?"

Leem scratched his forehead. "Nah, no! The car's been moved. It ain't in the same place and someone's been handling it. I'm also pretty damn sure they're out there watching things."

"Are you certain, Mr. Coley?" Sherlock asked with a furrowed brow.

Leem looked back at Katherine with a frown and jerked his head towards the bed. "Cover yourself, Kat. They don' need to see you like this . . ."

She sputtered a laugh. "And you do?"

"Kat!" He growled.

There was something a little thrilling about the way his eyes darkened and the corner of his mouth twitched. She narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a very direct stare.

 _"Two kisses does not make me yours to order about, Leem,"_ she thought.

"Mr. Coley!" Sherlock prodded impatiently.

He turned back towards the other men. "Yes, Mr. Holmes. The Felicia's been tampered with it. I'd bet my life on it. At best, we're talking cut brake lines or something, at worst, a bomb. I don' even advise touchin' it."

Katherine felt her heart speed up. A bomb! Dear Lord! She shook as she reached for her suitcase and hastily pulled out a pair of jeans.

"What do we do then?" Fil asked.

Sherlock waved his hand at them. "Everyone shut up for a moment and let me think."

While the great man was muttering and walking in circles, Katherine escaped to the bathroom to get dressed. She met eyes with Leem just before she shut the door. He looked very worried. She drew in a quivering breath and locked herself in the loo. She sat down on the toilet for a few moments with her head in her hands.

It was all so crazy. She wished, well, . . . she wished she wasn't the way she was sometimes. She could never just leave well enough alone. She always had something to prove which was why she was in her current situation.

She didn't understand her compulsion to figure things out down to their minutiae. It had served her well in her career, no doubt. She was the youngest female math professor ever to teach at Cambridge. She had excelled there and really connected with her students but it hadn't been enough. She'd gotten restless and issued a challenge to them.

 _"Entertain me,"_ she'd dared, _"find me something to relieve my boredom."_

So, one of her students had challenged her to code break. He was an active member in a vigilante hacker group. He brought her some lines of computer code that a terrorist organization was using to send each other messages. She'd started with one message, then another and it had snowballed. She had gotten one of her mentors involved and even caught the attention of the British government as she sought to decipher all their communications.

Unfortunately, she had never really thought about protecting herself. She had blogged about her exploits, issued pay-it-forward type challenges to other institutions and basically done everything she could to paint a big, neon target on her back.

And they came for her and her mentor, Dr. Ross. A young man had turned up at his door with a gun and killed him, his brother and a cousin at a family function before killing himself. A different fellow fired a shot at her in the parking lot at school. Had it not been for a fast acting campus security guard, she'd probably be dead.

That hadn't been the end of it though. She was a woman who'd made enemies with long memories. It didn't matter that she lived. Her life was over. She hardly understood the point of this attempt to stow her among the Roma. Mycroft had thought he could disrupt the main terrorist cell that had made her their prime target but she wasn't a complete dullard. Her name was out there. She may as well be a satirical cartoonist. That might be a safer profession.

She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and grimaced. She should just walk out into the parking lot, jump in the car and let it blow her up. Then, this would all be over with and everyone would be safe. Sherlock Holmes could return home to his new wife. Fil could go eat his crisps and watch his football and relax and Leem could go find a proper girlfriend, like someone who wouldn't get him fired because facing death made her inexplicably horny.


	6. Chapter 6

When Katherine finally emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go, everyone seemed to be hanging about rather too casually.

"What's the decision then? What are we doing?"

Sherlock Holmes appeared to be searching his phone for something. "Nothing."

She looked at Leem, sitting on the floor and leaned back against the end of the bed. He flipped through channels on the tele. He peaked at her from the corner of his eye but then blinked several times at the small screen.

"Ah, Mr. Holmes think it's too dangerous to move tonight. We're going ta stay here."

Fil glowered at the small screen from the middle of her bed. "This station is shite, mate. Can't you find an English channel?"

Leem huffed as he rolled his eyes up at him. "There's only twelve channels. You're lucky they're in color."

Katherine raised a brow as she looked at Sherlock again. "We're staying?"

He glanced up from his mobile. "They don't know we've learned about the car yet or they'd make a move. Likely, they're hoping we get in it and drive away tomorrow and explode or something. So, for now we're safe. I'm having Mycroft arrange a pickup in the morning. I'm going to create a diversion and then we will walk right out the front lobby of this hotel into a service van. In the meantime, we will carry on as if nothing has changed and get some sleep."

She rubbed her arms. "I won't sleep a wink."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself . . . excuse me, I must make a call."

He strode to the far end of the room and sat down in the old armchair against the wall. His hand stroked through his hair as he awaited an answer on the other end. Katherine slunk down beside Leem on the floor (not really wanting to join Fil on the bed) and tried to watch the late night Bratislava news. Sherlock's voice traveled across the room and she found herself listening to his conversation even though she knew it was rude to do so. Besides, he couldn't mind too much or he'd leave.

"Hello, sorry to ring you so late," she heard him say.

His head jerked up and Katherine glanced away quickly. He cleared his throat.

"No, everything is fine. I just wanted to check on you. How are you feeling?"

He seemed to find something amusing. His deep laughter rumbled across the room.

"That many times? Have you talked to John? I'm sure he can prescribe something for your nausea."

He made a sound. Katherine peaked up to see a deep furrow wrinkle his brow.

"You know it's perfectly safe to take those. There is no point in you suffering . . . fine, fine, forget I mentioned it. Perhaps you should take a few days off work though."

He seemed to get irritated.

"Molly, you don't need to be there and you certainly in no condition to be moving around bodies! Look, why don't I ring my mother? She's been badgering me relentlessly about you. She's made it her life's mission to research all the newest health trends and eating guidelines for this and calls me every other day to pass along the information. You would actually be doing me a huge favor if you would go visit and let her fuss over you while I'm away."

A smile spread across his face and he let out a breath.

"Would you? Alright, well, Anthea has arranged a car to pick you up at nine tomorrow . . . well, I knew you'd see my logic eventually . . . Molly . . . listen, I didn't go around you . . . arg! Just, please, do this for me? I'll be up there in a day or two to join you."

He sighed noisily.

"I will be bringing a few people with me."

He listened for a moment.

"Leem and Fil and someone who needs protection."

He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Try not to get too excited about that. It's just a stopping point for them until we sort out what to do."

He smiled. Kat had sorted out the gist of the conversation by then. Her heart ached a little. It was quite endearing to see such a soft side on the bristly man. His finger stroked the phone absentmindedly as he listened to his wife speak. Katherine had to look away then. She swallowed as she heard him drop his voice to almost a whisper.

"I'll be fine. Go to sleep now, hmm? Yes . . . you know I do too, right? Okay, goodnight."

Leem's laughter snapped her from the trance she'd been lulled into eavesdropping on Sherlock's _*sigh*_ super sweet conversation with his wife. She looked over at him.

"What's so funny?"

He gazed sideways at her. "Oh um, they were just losing their shite over something a politician said about the local footy team . . ."

Her mouth opened in surprise. "You understand Slovakian?"

He lifted his shoulders. "A bit."

Fil bounced over to the edge of the bed. "Yeah, he speaks it and like, a half-dozen other tongues. It's annoying really 'cause he likes to crack jokes about me to the locals when we're on a job."

Katherine furrowed her brow. Every time she thought she had Leem a little figured out, she was thrown a curve ball and found herself wondering just who the heck was this man.

"What other languages do you speak?"

He stretched his neck and looked towards the ceiling as he thought about her question.

"Um, well it's mostly the Slavic languages like Czech and Slovakian. Hungarian, Polish, Russian and so on. Pretty much anything in that vein. They have similar roots so it ain't hard once you got the basics."

She nodded in disbelief. As if! She had trouble remembering her grade school German.

Katherine looked up at Fil and wondered if this was just part and parcel of the job they did. "Do you speak anything besides English?"

"A bit of French and Spanish but I don' pick it up like Leem."

Sherlock decided to interrupt their conversation then. "Fil, let's get going."

Everyone looked up at him with confusion.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Pardon."

Sherlock straightened his coat. "We are heading back to the room. We cannot maintain a gathering in this room lest they're watching. We need to return to our accommodations and make it appear as if we decided to turn in for the night. Leem will stay."

The three repeated their earlier surprise with almost the exact same questions. Sherlock cricked his neck to the side.

"I am not staying here," he said in exasperation. "My wife wouldn't approve. Fil, you are not staying because your brother would . . . have an issue with it. So, that leaves the only logical conclusion in that Leem will stay and ensure Katherine's safety. I don't think either of you would protest such an arrangement, am I correct?"

Katherine looked at a stunned Leem as he swallowed. His face went pink. Sherlock clapped his hands together.

"Right. Well, don't forget to turn out the lights. Oh, and do keep it down. We want them to think you're sleeping."


	7. Chapter 7

Katherine slammed the door behind Sherlock and Fil.

"OH!" She spit as she turned around to face Leem who still sat on the floor at the end of her bed. "Can you believe the nerve of that man?"

"I'm sorry, Kat. He lacks, um, tact."

"Tact! He lacks any kind of sensitivity or politeness. Is he seriously married? What kind of woman would have him?"

She winced at her own callousness then. What a rotten thing to say! She covered her mouth and gave him an apologetic look.

Leem laughed. "An angel."

Kat folded her arms and sighed. "She'd have to be. She is, right? Everyone says such wonderful things about her."

"You'll like her. You two are very similar, actually."

Katherine raised her brows. "Well, I hope she likes me. I'll have to remember not to slag her hubby, though. See, I'm not an angel in any way shape or form, Mr. Coley."

He smirked. "Ah, I was thinkin' more that you are her are both wicked smart. She's a doctor too, a pathologist. You're both brave, like ta solve puzzles and sassy as fuck. Dr. Molly doesn't allow that git ta get away with anything. You want to see that man eatin' humble pie, just wait 'til you see him around Mrs. Holmes."

Katherine's tummy turned over. She didn't want her sorry arse to be responsible for another death.

"So, we're going to his parents place to hide out and with his pregnant wife? Isn't that a bit unwise? Wouldn't I put them all in danger?"

Leem shook his head. "Mycroft's got that place locked down tighter than Scotland Yard on high alert. It's a veritable no-fly zone. There's like three areas a person has ta clear before they get to the front door."

Katherine shivered. "We just need to make it there."

He pushed himself up from the floor. "I'll get you there. That I promise you, Kat."

She became suddenly aware they were alone again. Dang, she was still pissed at Sherlock. He'd put them in the most awkward kind of situation. She felt a bit sullied by what he'd had implied but still wanted to do exactly what he implied. She had pride, however! She wasn't just some floozy.

"Look, Kat, I can see the wheels grinding in your head. Just, try ta get some sleep, okay? I'm going to sleep on the floor."

She shook her head. "No, sleep on the bed. I won't attack you."

He laughed. "I think I could probably fight you off if I wanted."

There was a stand off for a moment but eventually Leem relented. They climbed into bed together, fully dressed. Kat tucked herself under the covers while Leem stretched out on his side.

"All set?" He asked.

"Yes."

He reached up, pulled the cord on the bedside lamp and the room went dark. While Kat's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she stared at the ceiling. She laid there for what felt like forever listening to Leem's steady breaths but they didn't ever seem to get any deeper. Every once in a while he'd shift or readjust himself to get more comfortable. Finally, with a huff, he flopped onto his back. She glanced at his profile in the dim light and saw a glint off his still-open eyes.

"Yeah, can't sleep," he murmured.

Kat sighed. "Me neither."

He groaned and rubbed a hand over his head. "This is so fucked up."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. If this were any other time and place, Kat . . ."

She swallowed as his voice trailed off. "I'm with you on that."

He rolled to his side to face her fully. "I'm sorry about earlier. I had no idea that you wanted, ahem, um, you know."

Her face warmed. She was glad the cover of darkness concealed her embarrassment. "Em, yeah, see, I haven't had a lot of practice at seduction."

She heard him exhale noisily. "I haven't been on the receiving end of it in a long time."

"I find that hard to believe," she whispered.

He laughed. "God, listen to ya, Kat. You're not half bad at flirtin', actually."

She scooted closer then. Leem went tense next to her on the bed.

"Don't," he mumbled, "don't tempt me."

She laid her head on the pillow next to his. "I just want to snog a bit. How about that? Maybe we can tire ourselves out."

She reached out and tentatively stroked his arm. A tremor rippled underneath his skin. His hand found its way to the side of her head where it dove into her hair.

"A bit of a warnin'," he mumbled as his fingers stroked her scalp, "I don't tire out."

He leaned forward then and kissed her, gently at first, but as soon as she moved her lips in response he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. His tongue teased her lips apart and slid into her mouth. Katherine spread her fingers out over his chest to anchor herself. Lord, he was impossibly solid beneath her digits. She wriggled closer until she was fully in contact along his hard length.

Then, in the space of a heartbeat, he rolled on top of her and plunged his tongue into her mouth more insistently. His heavy mass pressed her into the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back like she was famished. After a few moments of seriously hot kissing and petting, he raised himself up on his arms and stared down at her. She could feel his warm breaths fanning her face. She licked her tongue over her teeth. His erection strained through his clothing.

"Hell," he ground out. "Bloody hell, Kat, this isn't going to be enough."

"N-No, you're right."

He drew in a shuddering breath. "And I don't have any condoms. I'm clean, they make us get tested twice a year at MI6, but I'm definitely not sterile."

She studied his almost black irises. "I-I am on the pill, for what that's worth."

She closed her eyes a moment and did a mental calculation. She had passed the most risky part of her cycle. She was taking her pills regularly, but there was always a gamble when having unprotected sex. She had never done so before. When did she get so irresponsible? Well, this wasn't going to help the slumber.

"Want to be stupid anyways?" He asked gruffly.

She nodded vigorously, surprised a little by her own reaction. "Oh, good God, yes."

Leem sat up and yanked off his shirt. Moonlight from a crack in the curtains softly illuminated his absolutely ripped frame. She literally stopped breathing in that moment. Normally, she wasn't into such hulking muscles but his weren't honed from shooting up steroids at the gym, he was a work of primitive art. She bit her lip as she scanned his torso. This man had battled. She counted at least half-dozen small scars that had been wounds requiring stitches. The top of his left pectoral muscle was a bit misshapen underneath a much larger, raised scar. She reached up to touch the spot.

"What happened?" She whispered.

His chest muscle jerked beneath her fingers.

"Gunshot," he twisted, causing every one of his glorious muscles to flex, and pointed to another rough bit of flesh along his ribs. "There's another one here which shattered my rib. Only time I've ever been shot but the wanker got me twice."

Katherine slid her hand down to the second wound. Leem held his breath until her fingers found the old scar.

"Was the cut on the back of your neck made by a machete?"

He nodded solemnly. "How did you guess?"

"I saw similar wounds l in Africa when I volunteered there."

She didn't know what else to say. His life had been worlds different from hers. She felt so inadequate in that moment as if she didn't deserve to be a part of this man's history. Her life had been downright posh by comparison.

"You think too much, Kat," he muttered.

"So I've been told."

He stood up and pulled her with him. He cupped her face and kissed her once sweetly.

"Don't fret for me," he implored. "I don't dwell on any of these moments. To tell ya the truth, I've had the time of my life doin' what I do. It was what I was meant for, honestly."

Katherine ran her fingers along the ridges of his sides and around his back.

"I don't have any interesting scars. I hope that won't disappoint you," she said, then her mouth ran away from her, "a-and I false advertise. My bra doesn't even need my breasts in it to look good. My bum is a little on the skinny side . . ."

Leem kissed her again, hard, which instantly silenced her ramblings. His hands slid down over her arse and pulled it tightly to his hips. If it were possible, his arousal seemed to have grown even larger. He pulled his head back and brushed a kiss over her cheek.

"Where's the minx I met earlier?" He said in a low voice.

Katherine laughed nervously. "She was an act!"

He smiled. "Nah, I don't think so. I just need to coax her out, right?"

Tentatively at first, clothes fell from them like autumn leaves then as they explored each other's body. His hands, for as rough as they were, gently caressed her skin until she was tingling everywhere. Before long, he was kissing and urging her back onto the bed, his large frame settling over hers impossibly heavy and hot. He leaned up on his elbow, gazed down at her body and stroked a hand up her side until it palmed her breast.

"Christ, you're beautiful, Kat. Your skin is like silk," he whispered. "And there's nothing goddamned wrong with any part of you. Did someone say otherwise?"

She shrugged. Her face heated beneath his perusal. "I've been told I'm too skinny."

"Give me a name and a date of birth and I'll ensure that fuck's life is a living hell for the next twenty years," he growled.

She tried not to grin. He was doing wonders for her confidence. If she had a tail, it would be switching like a cat's.

"Never mind," she pleaded, "just, um, carry on please."

He dipped his head and kissed her collar. "What would you like?"

His fingers, one by one, brushed across her nipple. Her sex clenched between her thighs and she gasped. The nerves from her nipples pinged and sparked like tiny shots of electricity.

"Oh, it's all g-good. Like, everything you are doing."

He dipped his head to her breast then, hovered over it, breathing warm, wet breaths against her skin as his knee nudged her legs apart. His hand slid down her belly between her thighs and over her sex. He paused, causing her insides to wind like a twisting elastic, before his mouth closed over her breast and his fingers delved into her cleft.

She almost arched right off the bed as if she were possessed. She bit her lip to stop a cry. It felt so good. She hadn't been touched by a man in ages, let alone one with this kind of skill. He ran his tongue around her breast a couple more times before moving to the other one. As soon as he had her other nipple in his mouth, he plunged a finger into her body. Again, her whole body quaked. She was enslaved to his touch. She had completely forgotten what to do with herself and just laid there, allowing him to turn her inside out.

He slid a second finger into her body and this time she whimpered. She was already slick. Her clit pulsed. Her sex gripped his digits tightly. She heard him groan from deep within his chest.

"Kat, there are a million things I want to do to you right now, but somethin's shot right to the top of my list."

Her lips parted. If he did much more anyways, she would probably detonate.

"Yes, I need . . . m-more," she panted.

He repositioned himself on top of her then, clutched her leg and hiked it up. She felt his stiff member against her mound. It flexed then and bopped her belly. She closed her eyes. This was going to happen. He was going to be inside of her, unsheathed with skin on skin. She had a little moment of panic and wondered what the hell she was doing but then he was there. The blunt end of his cock rubbed against her entrance, parted her folds, and then he began to enter her sex.

He was big, very big. Just when she thought he wouldn't fit, his helmet breached her sex and she felt the ridge of it pop inside her body. She heaved in a breath as the rest of him slunk inside. She exhaled sharply as he nestled into her womb.

"Are you okay?" He rasped.

She swallowed. "Um, yeah, your cock is h-huge, oh, um, fuck!"

A tremor coursed through his body. "God, don't say things like that or I'll finish too quickly."

Katherine reached her hands behind his back to hold him then and tilted her hips up. He withdrew slowly and gradually eased himself back inside even deeper, this time with another groan. Her hips were spread wide, his weight was almost suffocating, but she'd never felt lustier than she did in that moment. Her hands slid to his taut, round arse and urged him to pick up the pace. Slowly, slower and more tortuously than she wanted in that moment, he began to pump in and out. Her fingernails lightly dug into his cheeks. She began to lift herself up with each thrust.

A fire lit in her belly. She ached. While the juncture between her thighs felt filled, it was also vacant. She desperately needed it satiated, to overflow the cup which was trying to catch the drips of fire pulsing from her sex.

"Leem," she pleaded, "please, I need more."

He grunted. "More?"

"Mmf," she mumbled. "More. Harder. Faster."

He swore, then his pace increased rapidly. Soon, his rigid staff was thundering in and out of her cunt. Her small frame was pounded hard into the mattress. Every thrust seemed ready to split her insides but she was more excited by each savage rut. Her clit throbbed, she felt like it was a whirling top about to lose momentum. Soon, as if that top had begun wobbling, she lost all control and her orgasm overcame her. She bit her lip and let out a muffled cry. Her insides clenched along his shaft as the rest of her body went slack. Then her hands fell away.

Leem intertwined his fingers with hers, held her hands above her head and plunged into her several more times until he too went rigid. His member released inside her body with a twitch and a few subsequent jerks. Several spasms wracked his frame before he dropped his head to her chest and let go of her hands.

"Huuuh, Kat," he lifted his head, "shite, are you alright? I went blind there a moment. Did I hurt you at all?"

She shook her head quickly.

"Mm," her body was still pulsing, "n-no. No, that was freakin' splendid."

She blinked several times as she ran a hand over his closely shorn scalp.

"I-I've never reached that point with a man before," she divulged, then clapped her mouth shut.

What on earth had possessed her to say that? Her face went flaming hot.

"Are you serious?" He asked with a frown. "No one's ever made you come?"

She nodded. No use in backtracking. She hadn't been with very many people. Truth was, she had never felt as sexy and uninhibited with someone before. She'd never felt comfortable enough to demand satisfaction for herself. In fact, she'd never wanted it the way Leem made her want it. The realization hit her suddenly that this had been a godawful, terrible, very bad idea because she could never go back from this.

Leem Coley had just raised her expectations through the roof, put them on a damned pedestal and kicked away the ladder.


	8. Chapter 8

Katherine sat anxiously on the bed as she listened the sounds of Leem taking a shower. He hadn't bothered to close the door. In fact, he had risen out of bed butt naked, stretched and sauntered in there like it was no big thing. He was completely unashamed. Was that a male thing or a Leem thing? She couldn't help but wonder if what they had engaged in was something he did all the time. For some reason, she saw red. She didn't like the idea of anyone else touching him.

She covered her face with her hands as it flamed. What he had done to her last night! Just the thought of his large, rough hands on her flesh and the animalistic way in which he possessed her caused her insides to go mushy. She had never felt anything like that. Of course, she had satisfied herself countless times, but it wasn't the same as coming while a thick, rigid cock ruthlessly plundered her body. She groaned into her hands.

"Mm, what's that sound for?" Leem asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Kat peaked between her fingers. Her throat made a gargling sound as she was confronted with the sight of him. The previous night he'd been cast in shadows, lit only by the moonlight, and she thought he was gorgeous then. This Leem, swathed in a too-small towel which hung precariously from his hips, made her heart stop. Broad, muscular shoulders topped a torso that narrowed towards a trim waist. Every inch her eyes touched was raw, corded muscle. A fine dusting of hair trailed down his chest with just a faint line that disappeared beneath the edge of his towel. Her eyes flicked farther below to his solid legs. Lord, those were just as powerful as the rest of him. Her face burned as she realized he was aware of her appraisal. She tore her gaze away as her face flushed again.

His muscles bulge out of the corner of her eyes as he crossed his arms. "What's that look for, Kat?"

She swallowed and looked back up at him. "N-nothing."

His eyes squinted as he gazed down. "Are you feelin' awkward this morning?"

She shook her head even as she knew she lied through her teeth. "No!"

He laughed and squatted. She dropped her head and averted her stare again as his towel parted. She felt a finger gently lift her chin until their eyes met.

"Kat, life's too short for the kind of struggles you've got goin' on in here," His fingers dropped and drummed lightly on her chest. "I enjoyed last night. You have no idea how much. It was . . . very, _very_ good."

She licked her lips nervously. "Me too."

His eyes flitted over her mouth. "I would have you again right now if I could."

Her belly clenched. How did he manage to be so sweet and yet so intense at the same time? He placed his hands either side of her hips, raised himself up and kissed her hungrily. She grasped his shoulders to stop from falling backwards. He tasted slightly minty. All too quickly, the kiss ended and he breathed heavily against her mouth.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I should get dressed. Fil will come to collect us shortly."

She nodded. He didn't immediately move away though.

"Kat, what we did . . . it was fuckin' stupid. I was stupid," he mumbled.

Her heart panged at his words. "O-oh . . ."

"I mean, I'm not in the position to offer you anything. I can't be your boyfriend."

Katherine felt a crease form between her brows. A cold sensation prickled her skin. Why did this feel like a rejection? They hadn't made any promises to each other.

"I don't want you to be my boyfriend!" She retorted. "I don't want anything from you!"

He nodded once slowly. His eyes held hers for several moments.

"When I say it was stupid," he murmured. "It doesn't mean I regret it or that I wish things weren't different, though."

Her pulse fluttered. She would come to regret what they had done, she was certain of it in that moment. She didn't know Leem that well, but she took a little more of him into her heart every second. She had always thought she liked more complicated men, creatures who played their cards close to their chest, but was coming to appreciate his unassuming honesty. She'd be gutted when she finally had to say goodbye to him. She sighed silently. At least she knew where she stood (which at this point was on a train platform with him ready to give her a 'it-was-nice-to-meet-you' hug and send her on her way).

"I think I'll shower too, if that's alright?" She finally spoke.

He kissed the end of her nose and stood up again, catching the towel as it slipped. He winked.

"Pity that, you should have joined me."

* * *

"Kat, Fil's checked out the lobby. He thinks it's safe but if they're watching, they will know almost right away that we've caught on to them."

Katherine swallowed. Her heart was pounding so furiously she was sure its beat echoed up the stairwell. All manner of scenarios raced through her mind. The plan was to just stroll right through the lobby and jump into a covert delivery van parked outside the front entrance. Simple enough, but what would happen if the people who had tampered with their car decided to act? She could be walking into a death trap.

Leem rubbed her arms through her thin jacket. "It'll be alright, okay? My brother and Mr. Holmes are both in there, they're both armed. I'm armed."

He flicked open his jacket to reveal a gun in his waistband. "I know how to use this."

Katherine covered her mouth as the most inappropriate thought danced through her mind like a drunk party goer. Leem both frowned and attempted not to smile at the same time.

"Kat, you dirty girl," he whispered. "This dangerous shite turns you on, doesn't it?"

She glanced away. She was beginning to wonder what was wrong with her as well.

"Sorry," she replied softly.

"Don't be sorry," he said gruffly. "Just, try ta focus, please, for my sake as much as yer own."

He looked through the window of the stairwell door. His head dipped once in acknowledgment at someone.

"Alright, Fil has given the signal and it looks like the sliding door on the delivery van is open. I want you to casually walk towards the entrance but as soon as you are through the doors, haul ass into the van, you hear me? I'll be right beside you. Fil and Sherlock will follow. Don't stop for anything and don't let the driver wait for us if we aren't immediately behind you, okay?"

Her words faltered. She couldn't imagine leaving him behind. He grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake.

"Listen, Dr. Katherine Adams," he bit out. "I can't protect you, or my brother, or Mr. Holmes if I can't rely on you. I need to know that you are going to do as you're told."

She bristled. Do as she's told? She wasn't going to argue with him but she naturally balked at being commanded to do anything.

"Aarg, get that look off your face, Kat. I ain't asking you to make me a sandwich. Feel free ta tell me to fuck off later but this is important. I don't want anyone to get killed because you thought you knew better than the experts. I'm a goddamned expert, understand?"

"Yes sir, straight out to the awaiting chariot, sir!" She said with a salute.

He smiled and smacked her bottom. "Good girl."

"Oh, you-"

He didn't await her reply but shoved her out through the swinging door, following closely behind. She stumbled, hiked her bag up on her shoulder and strode as casually as she could straight towards the front entrance. The lobby was eerily quiet, the only thing she could hear was the squeak of the soles of her running shoes over the tiles. On the other side of the glass doors, she could see a maroon transit-type van with its sliding door wide open. It all seemed so simple, that is, until all hell broke loose.

She heard a loud bang and then the shattering of glass. The shock of the noise caused her steps to falter. She didn't even have time to look around before a large hand hit her squarely in the back and propelled her forwards.

"The van, Kat!"

The world erupted around her then. She did exactly what Leem commanded and ran. She didn't even have to push open the doors at the entrance. Several more deafening pops sounded and shattered the glass, scattering it across the lobby. She flinched as some of it rained down on her but threw herself forward. Her heart was in her throat. She held her breath, expecting to feel the impact of a bullet at any moment, but reached the van and dove inside. She scrambled to turn around and see what was happening. Almost immediately behind her, Sherlock and Fil hustled into the vehicle.

"Where's Leem?" She cried.

She couldn't see him, she tried to crawl forward but Sherlock grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her backwards into the open cargo space.

"Get down!" He shouted.

She slunk back. Time seemed to drag out then as both Fil and Sherlock fired their guns. The driver shouted at them.

"We have to go! Shut the door!"

Fil rose up like a bear. "We ain't leavin' my brother behind!"

Katherine's eyes swelled with tears. Her stomach felt like she had been dropped off a cliff and was in free fall. The heavy clunk of the van's transmission shifting rattled the floor. The van lurched forward. Over and over she whispered, "No". Just when she thought they were going to leave Leem behind, he jumped through the open door.

"Let's go!"

Relief, more palpable than anything she'd ever felt, coursed through her system. The door slammed shut and the van peeled away. She kept her eyes fixed on Leem as he crawled in her direction.

"Kat" he wheezed. "Are you okay?"

She nodded emphatically as he scooted up next to her. That's when she noticed he pressed a hand to his outer thigh.

"Oh my God, Leem. Are you hurt?"

He winced. "A bit, I think."

That caught Fil's attention and he was next to his brother in an instant. "Show me."

Leem moved his hand from a dark, wet spot on his pants. Fil stuck his fingers into a rip in the center and tore a large hole in the fabric. The tear revealed an oozing wound that had sliced a ragged path about six inches and almost an inch deep along the surface of his skin. Katherine's breath hitched.

"Good Lord, you've been shot."

Leem chuckled. "Lucky number three. Just a graze."

"That's not funny!"

"It's not funny, Leem, ya twat. It's bleeding pretty bad. Lie down. Dr. Adams, hold 'is leg up, would you?"

Fil turned as Leem weakly acquiesced and collapsed backwards on the floor of the van. He kept blinking and rolling his eyes around as Katherine elevated his leg up onto her shoulder.

"I feel a bit sick," Leem murmured. "Tell that driver to stop swerving so damn much."

"We're driving straight," Fil muttered. "Driver, eh, driver! You got a med kit in this thing?"

"Under the passenger's seat," he replied.

Sherlock retrieved the kit and handed it to Fil. "Bind it tight to stop the bleeding."

Fil glowered at him with a fierceness Katherine hadn't witnessed before. "I've seen more bullet wounds than you've seen bullets, Mr. Holmes. I'll take care of my brother. You make sure that idiot behind the wheel gets us ta safety."

For once, Sherlock Holmes had nothing to say. He just pressed his lips together and returned to the front passenger's seat to co-pilot. Katherine was impressed with Fil then, as she was certain not many people could put Sherlock in his place.

Leem mumbled something then and Katherine noticed he looked rather pale. She stroked his arm. He was a bit clammy to the touch. His blinking slowed and he started looking sleepy.

"He's bled too much," she said anxiously.

Fil nodded and gave his brother a light slap and the cheek. "Leem! Leem, don't be stupid and die on me now, not from a flesh wound."

Katherine's hands quivered. He didn't look well at all. In fact, he wasn't even responding anymore. Fil bound his wound as securely as he could and pulled tight. It must have hurt because Leem roused temporarily.

"Aah! Don't let 'im stitch me," he panted. "He's shite at it."

With that last outburst, Leem passed out. Katherine looked up at Fil.

"He needs proper medical attention."

Fil's eyes were a bit large. He sucked in a breath.

"You're right," he lifted his head to bark at the men up front. "We need to get Leem to a hospital! Like, right now, or he's going to die."


	9. Chapter 9

Katherine let out a sigh of relief as she followed Sherlock, Fil and Leem up the pathway towards the Holmes parents' residence. After their flight from Slovakia, it was nice to feel as if she were coming home, even if this particular house wasn't her home. At least she was back on English soil. Also, just as Leem had described, the security surrounding the modest dwelling was quite elaborate. She had never seen so many unmarked police and government vehicles in one area. She finally felt like she could breathe normally.

She studied her newest hiding place. The house itself wasn't anything special to look at architecturally but it was covered with a lovely dark red plaster and its detailing grouped in threes. Three chimneys, three upper windows identical to the three lower windows, and three sculpted topiaries abutted the façade.

The front door burst open just as Leem limped through the garden gate ahead of her and a woman not much larger than herself hurried down the walkway with her long brown hair billowing backwards. Her dark eyes were wide with concern. Katherine found her eccentric choice in clothing coupled with her sweet face instantly appealing. She knew she gazed upon the only person on the planet who could pull off a yellow cardigan with pink daisies, burnt-orange hued slacks two sizes too big and patent leather, teal flats.

"Oh, my poor Leem," She cooed.

Katherine looked at Sherlock. She was certain her perplexed expression mirrored his own. The dainty woman was definitely his missus and he was none too pleased with her affection for Leem.

Leem smiled as large as Katherine had ever seen and opened his arms. The woman threw herself into his embrace, almost knocking him over and hugged him tightly. She stepped back several moments later and patted a hand against the side of his face.

"Are you very hurt?" She asked.

Leem shook his head. "I'm fine, Dr. Molly. Just a scratch."

Her face puckered. "We'll see about that. I'm going to have a look at it later."

Sherlock huffed. "You'll do no such thing!"

Dr. Molly, as Leem had referred to her, smirked at her husband and placed her hands on her hips. In doing so, her rounded belly poked out between the two halves of her cardigan. Her brows raised in challenge. Sherlock pressed his lips together, his face a mask of frustration. That one silent exchange told Katherine everything she needed to know about their relationship. Dr. Molly Holmes was no pushover.

"Hi, Honey," she winked at him and then turned to Fil. "Hi, Fil!"

"Ha-llo, Dr. Molly, you look well."

"I am, thank-you," she rubbed a hand over her tummy with a grin.

Finally, her intelligent brown eyes fell on Katherine who scrunched her toes in her shoes. She desperately wanted this woman's approval. How could she not? She was clearly adored by everyone and seemed genuinely nice.

"You must be Dr. Adams," she said with a smile. "I'm Molly."

Katherine shook her outstretched hand. "Please, call me Katherine."

"I will. I'm so glad to see another female my age around here and have a proper conversation that involves something other than pregnancy or babies. Everyone seems to be expert and feels the need to offer up some advice. You're a mathematician, right? I've heard you also crack codes which sounds wonderfully diverting. I can't wait to sit down and have a cup of tea. That is, if you don't mind entertaining me."

Katherine laughed. "I'd love to, but as for the entertaining part, I can't promise much."

Molly grinned at her and glanced at Sherlock again.

"Ooh, look at that face!" She teased as she stepped up to him. "Did you miss me?"

Sherlock dropped his chin to look down at his wife who bumped him with her belly.

"Hmph, did you miss me?" He chided.

Katherine's heart squeezed at the look on his face. He had a soft set about his lips and a hint of self-doubt in his eyes. He was a man utterly infatuated with his wife.

"Of course I did," Molly said softly. "I'm desolate without you."

Sherlock's face went pink. A smile curved Molly's lips and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Then she went slack in his arms.

"I'm oh, so exhausted from walking all the way to the gate, though," she declared. "My poor swollen feet! I think I need you to carry me back inside."

"You are too ridiculous," he mumbled as he gazed down at her face.

She stuck her lip out in a pout. "Should I ask Fil to do it?"

Molly squealed as Sherlock reached down and then hefted her up. Without saying another word, he brushed by them and led the way to the front door with his wife in his arms. Leem, who had stepped aside, stumbled as he returned to the path. Katherine skipped to him and latched onto his arm.

"I can't carry you," she teased, "but perhaps I could enquire about a wheelbarrow or something?"

He looked sideways at her and laughed weakly. "I'm fine, Kat. Please don't fuss. I'll 'ave enough of it from Dr. Molly in the next few days."

Katherine tried not to smile as she leaned in to whisper to him. "Yes, indeed. Now, however, I feel like I need her blessing to be anywhere near you. I didn't know you belonged to her."

He chuckled. "Molly tends to adopt people. It's what she does. You'll be hers soon enough and then I'll need permission to touch you."

She flushed. She was too happy to exchange banter with him after the last couple days. Fortunately, there had been a medical team awaiting them at their extraction point who had tended to Leem and patched him up. The high powered bullet that ripped a swath through his skin had also slightly damaged his lateral muscle in his thigh. He seemed to manage walking upright, but sitting and standing proved more difficult. His skin was still sallow from his blood loss. Mycroft had wanted to send him back to London and off duty but Molly had demanded his presence.

Witnessing that phone conversation had been one of the highlights of Katherine's life. Sherlock had handed his brother his cell phone just as the rotors of the helicopter began to turn. Mycroft placed one hand over his ear and attempted to protest, but it was evident he would not win the argument with whomever was on the other end of the line. At one point, he cleared his throat, clapped his mouth shut and reddened like a child who had been scolded. When he disconnected the call, he lifted his chin, adjusted his vest beneath his jacket, and informed them all that Leem was going to come with them to the Holmes' homestead and he would return to London alone. So, in actual fact, Katherine knew she would love the feisty pathologist before she ever met the woman.

Inside the residence, they were greeted again by the Holmes parents.

"Dr. Adams, I hear you and I have something in common," Mrs. Holmes the elder commented.

Katherine nodded. "Yes, I use your books as reference materials. I am so honored to meet you."

She waved her hand. "Pssht, they're probably terribly dated. I bet you could teach me a thing or two."

Mr. Holmes patted his son on the back and twitched his brows at Leem and Fil. "Ooh, looks like we're outnumbered IQ-wise, lads. Anyone want a scotch? One of my friends gave me a nice bottle of 10 year old Ardbag."

Leem looked a bit wan. "Erm, if no one minds, I'd like ta go lie down."

Sherlock drew a breath. "I will pass. Molly and I have things to . . . discuss."

"I'll 'ave that drink wit you, sir," Fil offered.

So, after sorting out the logistics, everyone seemed to go about their ways. Katherine found herself seeing to Leem in a small room on the second floor. She stretched out on the bed next to him on her side once he had made himself comfortable.

"Are you truly alright, Leem?" She asked.

He nodded. "How many times do I have to say I'm fine?"

She stroked a finger down his nose. "Until I believe it."

He caught her wrist. "Kat, don' get attached to me, please."

Katherine felt her skin flush cold across her face. Her eyes darted aside and she tried to pull away so she could leave. Despite appearances, Leem was still incredibly strong. His held her firmly and even pulled her closer. She met his gaze again and found their noses almost touching. His eyes were devastatingly gorgeous at this proximity. She could see now they were a more mottled mix of deep sea green and dark jade with the rare sliver of yellow. That's when the image of a toddler with her blonde locks and those eyes popped into her head.

She blinked a couple of times as she gave herself a mental slap. Oh, no, she didn't just have a mini baby-mama fantasy! She swallowed as she felt a bit of panic churn her abdomen. She'd never, ever . . . ever, _ever_ had one of those! Leem was correct to warn her off. She was becoming much too fond of him.

"You're right. I should go," she whispered.

"Kat, you know I don't want you ta leave, right? I would keep you if I could."

She bit her lip. She wished he wouldn't say such things. It would be easier to have him outright reject her so that she could nurse her shattered ego and move on.

"W-We should probably just stop doing things like this," she mumbled sadly. "Maybe stop hanging out altogether."

He brushed some of her hair back with his trembling fingers. He searched her face one last time. The corner of one of his eyes twitched.

"It had to happen sooner or later," he murmured. "If I was a better man, none of this would have happened at all."

She drew in a shaky breath. Oh, God, this was it. She wanted to curl into a ball. Gut-wrenching heartbreak gripped her so violently she could wretch.

"Don't say that," she pleaded. "That sounds like a regret. You said you didn't regret what happened."

He frowned.

"I regret this," he said gruffly. "No, I _resent_ this. It's fucking awful."

"Don't blame yourself. Blame me."

"Ta hell with that. I'll shoulder it. I'm a big bloke."

Katherine had known Leem less than a week. She'd had sex with him one time. Their conversations had been few and far between but she didn't need another moment to know she had fallen in love with him. Heck, she probably had loved him a little from the moment their gazes had first locked.

It was ludicrous. She of all people shouldn't be prone to such romantic irrationality, yet here it was in all its ridiculousness. It was if she were three, someone had given her a shiny new toy, and no sooner than she gotten her hands on it, they'd asked for it back.

"Yeah," she muttered at last. "I'm going to go now."

He released his hold on her arm. "Friends, Kat?"

She scooted off the bed. They could never be friends in the traditional sense. Not when she wanted everything about him to belong to her including his soul, his heart, and apparently, even his DNA.

"Sure," she choked out. "Friends."


	10. Chapter 10

"Scoot over, boys," Mrs. Holmes clucked.

Katherine looked up from her cereal and smiled as the matriarch of the house shooed Leem and Fil from their seats. Molly had just entered the room, followed by Sherlock, which meant all others had to make way. Fil didn't even stop eating. He scooped another mouthful of oatmeal as he moved and plunked himself back down. Leem was a little slower going and winced as he shifted and settled.

"How are you feeling this morning, Princess?" Mrs. Holmes kissed the top of Molly's head.

Sherlock snorted. Molly twitched her brows and smirked.

"I'm wonderful, thank-you."

Mrs. Holmes snatched an unopened yoghurt from Sherlock's hand. "Those are for Molly."

Molly pressed her lips together. She tried not to smile as Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"It's alright, um, Mum. I don't mind sharing," she said cheerfully.

The older woman developed a rather silly grin on her face. She set the yoghurt down in front of her daughter-in-law and patted her face lovingly.

"Can I get you anything, my darling?" She asked.

Molly shook her head. "No, thank-you, I can manage."

Mrs. Holmes moved off with a hum as she busied herself around the kitchen.

"I've been completely displaced," Sherlock muttered.

His mother returned with a caraffe and hovered over him. "Oh, listen to this grumbling. I remember what it was like to be pregnant with each one of you Holmes. You were the worst parasite by far, my boy. So demanding! My poor Molly is probably knackered from carrying your spawn, especially if it takes after you. So forgive me if I indulge my daughter-in-law a little. I never thought I'd have any grandchildren."

"You can be rest assured, Mother, that she mostly likely takes after Molly. So, there is nothing you need to fret about . . ."

"Sherlock!"

He looked at Molly who had an exasperated look on her face. Mrs. Holmes set the caraffe down shakily. A high-pitched sound issued from her throat. Then, she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears.

"She?" She whispered before dropping her hand. "It's a she? Oh, I always wanted a pink one!"

Molly sighed and stood up to hug Mrs. Holmes. "It was supposed to be a surprise but yes, we're having a girl."

Mrs. Holmes cried as she hugged Molly in return. Katherine felt herself get a little teary eyed as she witnessed the emotion on their faces. Then, suddenly, she couldn't take anymore.

"Excuse me," she mumbled to no one in particular as she leapt from her chair and brushed by Mr. Holmes, the senior, who was just entering the room.

She couldn't leave the scene soon enough. She'd never had much of a family. Her dad did his best but it just been the two of them. Observation of the Holmes' postcard-like happiness reminded her of how alone she was in the world. She couldn't resent them for it, but she felt god-awfully wretched for herself which she was tired of feeling, frankly.

Katherine glanced ruefully outside at the downpour drenching the gardens. The rain was coming down so hard, it bounced back up off the cobblestone walk and the top of the stone perimeter fencing. She wrinkled her nose. Well, she wasn't going out there. Instead, she made her way to the far end of the house with its small den doubling as a library and closed the door behind her.

Despite the numerous interesting books lining the shelves, including several that would normally make her giddy to read, she flopped down on an armchair across from the room's only window. She sat there for an indeterminate time watching the rain stream down the glass until the door creaked at her back.

"Kat?"

Her breath faltered as she heard Leem's voice. She'd avoided him since they had arrived three days previous hoping that somehow, her potent reaction to him would diminish. However, that one syllable he uttered had her hair standing on end. She jumped up from her seat.

"Um, hi," she said lamely.

Dang, he got better looking every time she saw him. He'd gone back to dressing in tailored clothing as if on duty but rather than add polish, he looked like a caged beast. The buttons on his crisp, black shirt strained across his broad chest; as did the seat of his pants over his pert, round arse. His skin tone had improved drastically in the last couple days so he looked vital again. However, he still had some healing to do.

He closed the door and limped in her direction. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged.

Leem's eye twitched. "Talk to me, please."

A grimace flitted over his features then. She gestured at the red-upholstered chair with a huff.

"Sit down, Leem."

"Nah, I'm good. It's just the stitches. They pull a bit. I'm more worried about you."

She sighed. "I'm not the one who's hurt!"

He stroked a hand over his face. "There's lots of types of hurts, Kat."

She waved a hand and exhaled noisily. "Arg! Don't! Don't be all . . . you! I don't want your concern."

His eyes constricted in confusion and he shifted towards her again. She stumbled back.

"Well, too goddamned bad! You have it," he reached out and caught her elbow before she fell. "We're supposed to be friends."

She shook off his hold and stared at him a moment. She thought about running away but then stepped into his personal space until she was nose to nose with him.

"I don't want to be your friend," she hissed.

He set his plush lips in a grim line. She scanned his face. He was irritated, at a loss for words, frustrated; she might as well be gazing into a mirror.

"Moreover," she whispered as she tapped his chest. "You don't want to be my friend."

His green eyes blazed down at her.

"We settled this," he bit out.

Katherine raised herself up on her toes. "Well, here's what I think about that!"

When he didn't move away, she hooked an arm behind his head and then kissed him for all she was worth. His lips parted in surprise and a breath puffed into her mouth. She moaned a little and swallowed it before slipping her tongue along the opening of his mouth. His hands were on her body in an instant, large and very warm through her thin blouse. With a growl that rumbled his chest, he clutched her closer and opened his lips to invite her in. As soon as she touched her tongue to his though, he took over the kiss. Her stomach fluttered as Leem's quiet reserve slipped. He crushed her so tightly against him, her toes dangled off the floor. His tongue plunged inside her mouth, making her belly quiver with each stroke. He kissed her until she was heaving when he broke away.

"God, Leem," she panted into his ear.

His lips travelled along her jaw. "Grr, Kat, w-what are you doing to me?"

Her hands crept up to his head. She ran her fingers over the short, spiky hair which was actually very soft. Her head dipped back as his mouth explored her throat. Every so often, his tongue would taste her skin. The hot, wet slide of it made her insides feel all squidgy.

"Huh, oh, crap I need you right now," she whispered. "I can't . . . I can't keep passing by you in the corridors, Leem. I need to be with you."

"Lord, stop sayin' things like that," he said between breaths. "Do you know how hard it's been not to grab you? I can't sleep. When I close my eyes, I can feel how tight you were . . ."

Just the vibration in his tone made her blood heat. She believed it as he raised his head and slammed his lips down on hers again. His fingers spread out over the small of her back and stretched down over the top of her bum. His cock, ready and rigid, made itself known through their layers of clothing. She dropped her hands to his shirt and grabbed bunches of it as she yanked it from his pants. When she fiddled with the zip of his trousers, he sucked in a breath against her mouth.

"Jesus! You're so bad, Kat. You're going to get me murdered if we're caught defilin' this room."

She pulled back a moment and studied him. He was a bit pink and flushed. His lips glinted with moisture. A big fat, "DO IT" flashed through her mind like a television advertisement. In a heartbeat, she skipped away, locked the door to the room and spun to face him again.

"No!" He pointed a shaking digit at her.

She began unbuttoning her shirt with trembling fingers as he gaped at her from across the room.

"Kat!" He inhaled sharply and dropped his voice into a low warning. "Kat, I'm serious, don't. Don't . . ."

She was on a mission, though, and sensed his resolve slipping in the shakiness of his tone. She divested herself of her blouse and then unzipped her skirt. When it fell to the floor, she stood there in her underwear a second. Her face and then the rest of her body heated. She raised her eyes warily, hoping she wasn't setting herself up for humiliation, but then she saw that expression on his face. The one that gave her the shivers. His look was a bit stormy, like he was sort of mad at her for turning him on. His eyes travelled quickly down her body, igniting her flesh as he went.

"Come here" he grumbled.

She chewed her lip. "Get naked first."

He dropped his chin and shook his head in exasperation as he worked quickly on the buttons of his cuffs and shirt front. As he shuffled out of his pants and shorts, she discarded her underwear. Once naked, they stood there for a moment assessing each other. She found herself staring ruefully at the painful wound on his leg. It was healing, but still swollen with red and purple stains fanned out in a large circle around it.

"Oh," she swallowed. "Um, will you be alright?"

He glowered at her as his chest rose and fell. "Do I look like I'm having issues?"

She held her breath as she glanced up to his cock. She quivered deep in her core. Was he that big? Really? She swallowed once more as her eyes fed greedily on the straining length of it. Tentatively, she approached him. His eyes darkened with each step until she brushed up against him, her nipples tickled by his chest hair.

"We're going to do this quickly," he ground out as his gaze searched her face. "Actually, you're going ta do most of the work since you're hell bent on getting' me in trouble. Also, my leg is still fucked. Agreed?"

She nodded. So agreed!

He pulled her down to the floor as he scooted and sat leaning back up against the small sofa. He urged her onto his lap until she'd straddled him and his member jutted up between them. His fingers threaded into her hair and he impelled her forward for a hard kiss. Her hands travelled his body, trying to memorize the feel of his muscular abdomen. Despite his assertion they were going to be quick, there was nothing hurried about the way his mouth moved over hers nor the languid way in which he preluded their joining with the play of his tongue. Over and over he delved in until she was almost clawing at him.

He slid his hands to her breasts which all but disappeared into his grasp. She gasped against his mouth as she felt a gentle squeeze and tug on her nipples. Even though his flesh was a bit calloused, the abrasion made her insides flush. Everything about him was so masculine, so . . . Leem.

"Kat," he whispered, his hands cupped her bum, "God, Kat, the sounds you make for me."

His fingers dug into her hips and he rubbed her along his shaft. She felt the veiny, ridged length of him part her cleft and rub like a thick root against her sex. Her breaths came hot and heavy. She was so tense. A tingling, almost stinging sensation preceded a feeling of dampness between her thighs and, as he rubbed again, her wetness coated him.

"You're ready for me, aren't you?" He said with a growl.

"Y-Yes," she stuttered.

She reached down between them and closed her eyes as she grasped the wide width of him. She leaned forward on her knees, lifted her hips with his hands curving over her arse until she was pressed up along his chest. Her lips sought his jaw, then his lips blindly as she rubbed his head between her legs. His hips jerked involuntarily and he pushed part way inside. Then, she sank down onto him, feeling impaled as his length invaded to the depth that her belly-button twinged.

"Fuck," he groaned. "Huh, fuck."

She savored the deep-seated feel of him, the way she gripped him low on his shaft where it widened out to his body and how his balls pushed up on her bum. Just thinking about everywhere his skin made contact with hers made her insides quiver. A tremor ran through her body and she clenched his staff. He made another gruff sound and gathered her to him.

"I can't . . . hmph, Kat, y-you slay me . . ."

Despite his earlier assertion that she would be doing the work, he began to move furiously, thrusting upwards with abandon. His massive hands lifted her in tune with his rhythm. She matched him move for move as he pumped beneath her, every once in a while grinding her hips down to embed him deep within her again. The friction was unbearable. The tension in her core kept ratcheting up like a timer being twisted until it was on the verge of springing apart. Soon, all she could focus on was the slick plunder of his cock and the drive of him in and out of her body. She anchored herself on his shoulders, leaned her head against his and held on for dear life.

She could feel his movements becoming more erratic after a while. His breaths were deafening in her ear. The ache behind her clit and the frission created by the slide of his member became too much and the tenuous thread holding her together finally broke.

"Oh, my, God, Leem. Unh . . ."

Her orgasm felt so good, it almost hurt. A pulse of her sex exploded into a shuddering climax that caused ripples to spread out through her entire body. She clutched his head tightly as she cried out.

"Kat! Damn! Ssh!" His hand covered her mouth. "Christ, bite me if ya need to . . . bloody hell!"

Then, he grunted and stiffened beneath her, gripped in a spasm. His hips jerked several times as he came and his cock lurched within her body. She felt each pulse of his release as it travelled from his body up through his length. Her sex clenched again at the feel of him coming. Something about that moment was beyond satisfying. Her ego did a little dance in her mind.

Finally, she collapsed against him, rested her head on his shoulder as her high diminished, and fluttered back to earth. His hand stroked up and down her back, twined into her hair and massaged her scalp.

"Is that what you needed?" He asked gruffly.

She inhaled a deep breath and lifted her head. "What?"

He caressed the side of her face. "Do you feel better?"

She squinted at him and felt her eyelid twitch. "D-Did you just have pity sex with me, Leem?"

His brow furrowed. "Kat, I'm a bloke. We don't have types of sex. I mean, we just go with it, it doesn't have to mean anything."

A kind of panicky anger rose in her. She knew she was overreacting and wasn't quite sure what she wanted Leem to say, except anything besides what he just said.

"So, this didn't mean anything?" She wanted to slap herself a little for sounding so whiny.

"Don't put words into my mouth," he grumbled. "But I don't know what ya expect of me. You locked the door and got naked. Sorry if I can't muster up a whole lot more deep meaning for your sensitivities."

"Oh!"

She jumped off him and balled her fists at her sides.

"Oh! Fuckity fuck!"

Her face burned as she felt something wet run down the inside of her leg.

"Settle down, Kat. That didn't come out right . . ."

He lumbered to his feet. His mouth opened to speak. His eyes were a bit wide.

Then the door rattled on its hinges.

"Katherine," a baritone voice asked from the other side. "Are you in there?"

Shit! Sherlock!

"Um, sorry, be right there!" She cried.

She scooped up her clothing. Leem collected his own then grabbed a box of tissues from a side table and thrust them in her direction. Again, her face burned. She'd never been more embarrassed in her life.

"To, um, clean yourself," he muttered.

She snatched it from him, cleaned herself quickly and started to dress. Leem did the same but then limped to the window and threw it open.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

He wagged his brows at her. "Making an escape."

Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "Don't you dare leave me alone!"

He swung his leg out. "Ah, see, now that sounded like a challenge. I'm never one to back down from one of those."

He saluted her then and hopped out the window. She watched dumbfounded as he hobbled out of sight.

Damn him!


	11. Chapter 11

Katherine looked up from the laptop she had been given by Sherlock at the group gathering for dinner. Her heart beat an erratic tempo in her chest and her face flushed cold. She suddenly felt very much like a Trojan horse. She had made a monumental miscalculation and if she didn't do something about it, all of these wonderful people could be in grave danger.

Sherlock, Molly, their parents, Fil and Leem had no idea what was going on. The lines of code that Mycroft had sent for her to decipher had her vibrating in her seat once she recognized their significance. She had thought she was dealing with above average terrorists who had come up with an ingenious way to communicate. Instead, she had uncovered something much more sinister. It appeared as if the encryption algorithms they used were also employed by several large corporations and various world government agencies.

The code itself was like its own language, one that Katherine spoke fluently because the sequences used were derived from her mentor's teachings. She hadn't made the connection earlier because she had only seen bits and pieces of it, but with this new information, its origins were glaringly apparent. It boggled her mind. Dr. Ross should have recognized his own work. Maybe he had. Maybe he was the primary target in this all along.

She glanced up and made the mistake of eye contact with Sherlock Holmes. She knew from the look on his face he had deduced her inner turmoil. He mumbled something to Molly and came directly towards where she sat.

"What is it?" He asked in a low tone. "What have you uncovered?"

Katherine shook her head. "I've been so blind. What we've been chasing, it's all based on Dr. Ross' work. Whoever is behind this had to be a student of his or closely worked with him."

Sherlock's eyes narrowed. "There's more, isn't there?"

She nodded. "These sequences are everywhere. I've found it in all manner of sensitive systems such as the German Tax authority, our own NHS, and Kessel Defense which is a US government arms contractor. Sherlock, you should see some of the information I've been able to access. Whoever wrote all this software has been double-dealing by selling the same tools to criminals and terrorists. You know how I was able to find everything? It was a simple search for a key code and I could tell who had the bogus security ware. The people who made this software built in ways to illegally enter into these systems wherever their stuff is used. This tells me it was no mistake and it's not just a vulnerability. Their actions were deliberate and predatory."

Sherlock's lips pressed together a moment. His nostrils flared.

"Sounds like the modus operandi of someone I used to know," he grumbled. "Mycroft will want to know about this."

She closed the laptop with trembling hands. "This is so much worse than I ever imagined. This could change the course of history. They've infected countless systems. It's no wonder they wanted Dr. Ross and I dead. This could be a massive scandal once exposed. Not to mention, there has to be a lot of money riding on this. Data is currency and we're talking a lot of data. I thought I was dealing with terrorists motivated by religious zeal but those kind of nutters don't terrify me half as much as people motivated by money."

She looked across the room again to where Molly joked with Leem and Fil. She gulped down a lump that had risen in her throat.

"Sherlock," she whispered. "You need to get me out of here and away from your pregnant wife and parents as soon as possible."

His eyes followed where her gaze had been. She watched a ripple of emotion cross his face; he too had just felt an icy blast of fear. Her foot began dancing under the writing desk. Her pulse skyrocketed as she felt panic turn her stomach. The feeling was the same plummeting, breathlessness she had experienced as a teenager when her dog Andy had yanked his leash from her hand and chased a rabbit into traffic. She could almost hear the screeching of tires.

Sherlock's fingers wiggled at his sides. "Yes, you are right, you cannot stay here. I'll arrange for you to leave as soon as possible."

Her eyes prickled. If she didn't already want to vomit, she could burst into tears. She might be a virtual stranger, but she loved these people. They represented everything good and worthy in this world. She didn't want to go. She had felt like she was part of a family for the first time in years but she knew she must leave. However, she wasn't going to run and hide anywhere else. She could do something. She could find the people responsible for this software and expose them. It was the only way to protect everyone.

"I need to get back to Cambridge," she said with determination. "I'm done hiding, Sherlock. If they come for me, so be it. I'm tired of living in fear. They want to fight? I'll give them a fight."

* * *

"You're leaving."

Katherine hear Leem's voice from the entrance to her room. She didn't look up. She couldn't. She was still mortified from his flight from the study days earlier. Again, they had gone days without speaking.

"I am," she replied. "Tomorrow morning."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Uni. Back to my flat in Arbury."

She finally raised her eyes from her packing to look at him leaning on the door jam. Dangit! He always had to look so good. He wore a light blue shirt that deepened the darkness of his green eyes and he'd left it unbuttoned at his throat. Her eyes travelled the strong column of his neck before flicking downwards to take in the way the fabric pulled across his chest. She chewed her lip as she admired his exposed forearms where he'd rolled up his sleeves. She was irritated to feel her resolve slip.

"Why leave, Kat? You're safe here."

She huffed in exasperation (more at herself for wanting to jump him than anything).

"No, I'm not safe. No one else is either. I have to leave. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to Molly or the Holmes or Fil or y-you."

He frowned. "What's changed?"

She blinked back tears. "Everything! Look, Leem, I appreciate what you and your brother have done for me. I am grateful, truly, and it guts me that you were injured on my behalf but please don't ask me questions about this and don't lecture me. I-I've made up my mind. I'm not just going to sit back and let others do the heavy lifting."

"But you won't last ten minutes," he growled.

She ran her tongue over her teeth as the hairs bristled on the back of her neck. He was probably right but he wasn't going to convince her with that type of argument. The surest way to get Katherine Adams to do something foolhardy was to tell her she shouldn't or worse, couldn't.

She twitched her brows. "Oh, I'm certain Mycroft Holmes will have some sort of plan. Maybe I'll be assigned a fresh new pair of agents!"

She couldn't resist poking at Leem with that remark. She peaked up at him. It had the intended effect. His eyes went almost black. He pushed himself off the door frame and came in her direction. She backed up against the small bedside nightstand, almost knocking the lamp off. It teetered and wobbled back to a standing position. Butterflies swirled in her tummy as she gazed into his eyes. His eyelid twitched.

"They won't be as good," he muttered. "I'm the best, Kat. You'll never have better than me."

Again, a whole swarm of flutters roiled through her abdomen.

"Oh, um, well . . . you are definitely good at the covert, spy stuff," she murmured as she looked up at him. "You're like, super talented at disappearing."

His nose wrinkled and a look of guilt flashed across his face. "Kat, what I did the other day . . . that was chicken shit of me, I'm sorry . . ."

She shook her head. "Whatever, Leem, you were right. There's nothing deep or meaningful about what we've been doing. W-We just . . . f-fucked, right? Let's just leave it at that. We'll part as friends, okay? I'll go do my thing and you can relax and recover."

He scoffed. "Don't think to use my injury as an excuse ta leave me behind. You of all people know it hasn't affected my performance. Not even a little bit."

Her face warmed.

"That's not the whole reason and you know it," she replied shakily. "I am not worried at all about your, erm, _fortitude_."

Her face felt so hot she swore it radiated heat. He jerked a sweater from her grasp and threw it down. Her insides quivered as he reached for her with a stormy look in his eyes. However, he stopped short; his hands hovered in mid-air until he curled them into fists and dropped them to his side. His shoulders lifted with a deep inhalation.

"Kat, I know the kind of girl you are," he muttered. "I know you're pissed at me and have every right to be. I'm sorry, alright? I'm not used to dealing with women like you."

She raised a brow. "Like me? What am I like?"

His lips twitched. "Like . . . a horny squid."

Her mouth fell open. "What is that supposed to mean? Oh, never mind! I don't even want to know."

She went to stomp by him but he caught her wrist in his vice-like grip and spun her into his chest. She made an 'oomph' sound as she slammed into him. His hands slid around her in an instant and he dipped his head. He paused with his lips just brushing the corners of hers. His warm breath puffed against her chin and cheek.

"Don't be mad, I happen ta like cephalopods," he murmured.

"I still don't get it!" She balled her fists on his chest.

He chuckled. His fingers danced up her spine. Her skin tingled along the path his hand travelled.

"I think the horny part is self-explanatory. As for squid? You tried to convince me you were just looking for fun but I never believed that for a second. Kat, you're not a good-time girl at all. You'd suck my soul out if I let you."

His nearness had her mind spinning. "You make me sound h-horrible, like I'm clingy or something."

He kissed her cheek and the tip of her nose. "No, I love it. It's fuckin' intense. I want to give in, really. I want to be yours."

Katherine's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to retort but his lips stifled her words. He took advantage of her surprise and plunged his tongue into her mouth. At first she was caught off guard but then his tongue flicked against hers, causing pulses of frenetic energy to shoot through her belly. Her frustrated whimper was swallowed by his eager exploration. She couldn't resist the persuasion of his tongue stroking along hers and with a muffled sigh, melted along his body like warm butter.

He broke away with a groan. "I'm going with you tomorrow."

She dropped her forehead to his chest. She tried to slow her breathing and calm down. Every inch of her pleaded for more.

"Leem," her voice trembled. "I don't want you to get hurt again and they are going to try to hurt me. If something happened, if you were killed . . . I would d-die."

She felt his chin move against the top of her head as he spoke. "And I would lose my mind if you left here without me, so we're kind of at an impasse. Now, seeing as I'm bigger and meaner than you, I think we dispense with the argument 'cause you're not going to win, hmm?"

She raised her head and glowered at him. He laughed.

"Okay, okay, maybe not meaner but definitely bigger. Nah," he shook his head. "Nope! Don't argue wit me or I'll make a scene tomorrow."

She tilted her head as her frown deepened. "What kind of scene?"

He wagged his brows. "You just try ta leave without me and I'll throw myself down in the garden while everyone is watching and blubber like a fool. I think I could even manage a few tears. You don't want that ta happen, do you?"

"You'd make a laughing stock of yourself over me?" She suppressed a grin; her inner squid wanted to wrap itself around him for that.

His smile faded as he studied her face. "Kat, I find myself wondering what I wouldn't do."

Her breaths shallowed. His hold tightened.

"And that scares the hell out of me."


	12. Chapter 12

"Do you really have to go to leave so soon?" Molly asked softly as her fingers threaded through Sherlock's hair.

It was late, she was knackered but she knew the kind of danger he was in. He'd told her all about the situation with Katherine and that he was heading to Cambridge to help bring an end to it hopefully. Apparently, it was a lot bigger case than he'd originally imagined. Still, Molly preferred he was with her and safe.

"Yes," he murmured, nearly asleep. "It's better this way."

Molly nodded. She tried to memorize this moment. They were alone, Sherlock was stretched out on the sofa with his head resting on the remainder of her lap and their baby girl swam laps in her womb (having loads of energy because Molly had just had a slice of cake). A dying fire burned in the living room's fireplace. It was so peaceful and precious to her to have this quiet time with him.

A tingle of fear travelled up her spine then like the bristle of cactus points. She would never ask Sherlock to give up on his detective work, but she did wish it wasn't so dangerous sometimes. She did not want to imagine her life without her husband. He'd made her happier in the last year than she'd ever been. Her life felt so complete. As if sensing her mother's worries, their little one gave a good kick towards Molly's bellybutton.

Sherlock's eyes flew open.

"That!" His orbs were very round. "I felt that."

Molly smiled down at him. "Hmm, she's just saying hello, Dad."

"She's strong!" His voice was full of wonder. "How can she be so strong already?"

Molly quirked a brow. "I can't imagine."

He turned his head sideways and mumbled into her swollen belly. "You will have to learn to share, um . . . what are we calling her this week?"

"I'm trying out Elisande. Pretty, don't you think?"

He shrugged and poked out a lip. "I still don't know why we cannot name her Gerty."

Molly expunged a noisy breath. "Because it's horribly outdated and I dislike the sound of it."

"Gerty Cori developed the theory of carbohydrate metabolism. She was a gifted chemist and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine," he swirled his hands in the air above his head. "Our daughter needs an esteemed namesake . . . Oh! There, she did it again. I think she agrees with me."

Molly laughed. "She kicked you. The message won't get any clearer. She hates it."

She massaged his scalp until his eyes rolled back and he closed them.

"Mmm, how about Rosalind?" He asked. "Rosalind Franklin helped discover the double helical structure of DNA. She was a London Chemist."

"I will take Rosalind under consideration," Molly laughed. "It's not bad."

He smirked. "Though perhaps we should name her Marie or Mary. There are a lot of notable scientists with that first name-"

Molly brushed his hair back from his face. "What is your obsession with giving our daughter the name of a famous researcher?"

Sherlock's eyes flickered open and then narrowed in thought. "She cannot help but have a formidable intelligence with you and me as her parents. She will have something to contribute to the world, I know it. She deserves a suitable name-"

Molly smiled down at him, smoothing her thumb over his brow. "Surely you want her to make a name for herself, though, and not to be saddled with someone else's legacy?"

He blinked rapidly several times as he stared up at the ceiling. Then his lips parted and his eyes widened.

"Damn, you are right. She must have a unique moniker," he puffed a breath. "I am an idiot."

Molly suppressed a laugh. "Oh, Lord, I wish I had been recording that. A rare moment of humility from my great man."

His brows twisted. "Rare? Lately I find myself humbled every time I look at you."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Molly, you have suffered severe morning sickness, sleepless nights, pain in your joints, and all manner of malady to carry my offspring yet your humor has never suffered. I do not think . . . no, I _know_ I would not be so dignified if our positions were reversed."

Her heart skipped a beat. Unable to lean down, she kissed her fingers and then touched them against his lips.

"I love you, Sherlock. I don't complain because I am deliriously happy."

His eyes searched her face as he gently clasped her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. As ever, delightful ripples danced along her nerve endings.

"Truly?" He rasped. "Even though I am gallivanting about, solving crimes instead of taking care of you as I ought to be?"

She gripped a handful of his hair with her free hand and gave it a gentle tug. "Now, see here, Mr. Holmes. You take care of me by making the world a better place. Do not ever feel guilty about what you do on my account. I would not change anything about you."

His eyelid twitched and a slight sheen glossed his eyes. "Even my unfortunate tendency to spout insensitive tripe at nearly every opportunity?"

She sniffled as her eyes watered over. "I especially love the ridiculous things you say, Sherlock. Don't ever change. Please, please, don't ever change."

He shuffled off her lap and then sat up beside her and kissed her suddenly. His fingers splayed out over her jaw while his other arm gripped her around her shoulders. His hand trembled when he pulled back to stare down at her.

"I . . . love you, Molly. Dear God, I love you so much. I am sorry I have to leave. Please know that I think about you constantly. I feel as if I have a gaping hole in my chest when we're apart," he said gruffly.

She covered the spot over his heart with her hand as a tear rolled down her face. "I do too, but I know you'll return to me."

He nodded quickly. "Every time, always."

* * *

"It's all clear. Doesn't even look like anyone's been in yer place."

Fil watched as Dr. Adams smirked. A gust of wind mussed her hair. She pushed it back from her face.

"No bombs under my bed? I hear they can be nasty!" She wagged her brows.

Fil shrugged as he looked back at the four story apartment building.

"Nope," his tone was clipped.

Dr. Adams raised her brows when his gaze returned. She seemed taken aback.

"Okay, um, well, let's go up."

As she started towards the L-shaped, brick complex. Leem grabbed Fil's arm.

"Why are ya being such a prick right now?" He hissed under his breath.

Fil sneered at his brother. "I ain't. I'm doin' my job."

"Does your job entail treatin' Kat like a leper? You've not said two words to her since we landed."

Fil shook off Leem's grasp. "I thought chattin' her up was your department . . . um, among other things."

He hefted his duffel bag higher on his shoulder. He resented his older brother a little for his quasi-relationship. Although, he didn't know how involved they'd gotten (he suspected they'd been physical, however). For years, Leem had preached that the two of them should avoid getting close to anyone, especially clients, and yet, he'd done exactly that. It baffled Fil. Leem was always so self-controlled. He was the sane one.

However, Fil liked the doctor. She had a sly sense of humor and treated him with more respect than most. He tucked in his lip as a pang of guilt shot through his guts. He was mad at his brother, not Dr. Adams. He shouldn't take it out on her.

"I should punch you for that," Leem muttered.

"Oy, if you didn't know what you're doin' was wrong, you woulda hit me already."

Leem rubbed a hand over his face. Fil pressed his lips together tightly. It was tough love, but Leem needed to hear it. He threw a hand in his brother's path before he could storm after the little doctor.

"I get it, big brother," Fil said quietly, "but she's not for the likes of us, remember? You know this kind of bird is way out of our league. As soon as she's outta danger, she won't look twice at you. Come on, Leem. How many times 'ave you told me not ta get involved? How many?"

A guilty look flashed across Leem's face and he looked up apologetically. "Have I been makin' a fool of myself?"

Fil smiled. "Just a bit. I don't judge. If she looked at me the way she looks at you, I can't say I'd do any differently. I just . . ."

Leem dipped his head and held up a hand. "You don't have to say anymore. I know, Fil. I know better."

Fil winked. "Hey, this case has been nuts. You were shot. No one's thinking straight. We've earned a break after this, I'd wager. Mycroft is confident this will all be over in a week. We should go ta Brazil when this is all through. Disconnect for a while. You remember how much fun we had last time, hmm?"

Leem appeared to nod without enthusiasm. He smiled tightly and started after Dr. Adams. Fil sighed and followed as his brother hurried to get the door for the doctor. She grinned shyly at Leem. Fil actually hoped he was wrong about her and that she did genuinely care for his brother so as not to injure his self-esteem.

"You coming or what?" Leem called from the doorway.

Fil picked up his pace. "I'm coming! Cool yer jets."

Leem disappeared into the building after Dr. Adams. Suddenly a thought hit Fil cold and hard to the chest like a brick of ice. Leem had been restless, it seemed. Every so often, Fil saw his eyes wander after a couple or a young family. Hell, even Fil was guilty of that at times. They were thirty-four and thirty-three respectively. Everyone else their age seemed to be getting married, starting families and moving on in life while they were stuck on pause. Dr. Adams and his brother might actually be falling in love with each other. He swallowed. He wanted happiness for his brother, but didn't want to lose him. It had been him and Leem forever and he couldn't imagine gadding about alone. If his brother took up with Dr. Adams and they made a go of it, he'd be a third wheel in short order.

"Well, crap," he muttered to himself as a wave of self-pity washed over him. "That's the shits."


	13. Chapter 13

Katherine raised her brows as an argument between Fil and Leem escalated. She was beginning to wonder if they were going stir crazy protecting her while she worked. Three days they had accompianied her to Cambridge to watch her sit and mull numbers.

"Nah, it's one over 'x', so if our previous result works out ta point eight then the reciprocal is one point two-five," Fil growled.

Leem tapped the portable whiteboard they stood in front so furiously with his marker that it slowly rolled away from him. "We already did our division back here so we don't need a flip it. The answer is just zero point eight."

In an attempt to keep the brothers Coley occupied while she worked, Katherine had jotted down a few equations on their board and challenged them to have a go while she used the room's large projector screen to analyze her data. One of the techniques that helped her sort out patterns was to put herself back into student mode and look at everything in large format. Of course, this was a lot more effective when there wasn't a pair of bull-headed, Brummie brothers trying to prove which of them was smarter on one side of the lecture hall stage.

Finally, after failing to convince Leem of where he'd gone wrong, Fil turned to her in exasperation and shook his hands at the heavens.

"Dr. Adams, I'm right," he stated dramatically. "Could ya just tell him I'm right? I know my maths."

Katherine tried not to laugh at the expressions on their faces as she looked down at them from her seat half-way up the auditorium. She felt a bit guilty for their frustrated state. They had both discarded the blazers and rolled up their sleeves. Fil had kicked his shoes aside while Leem had loosened and flipped his black tie over his shoulder They were ridiculously cute, the pair of them, and in the last few days she had learned that they were both bloody brilliant. Every time she wrote a new problem on the board, she had increased its difficulty. Neither of them had been all that challenged by concepts that would have sent some of her better students around the bend.

"I'll inform you of who is right, but first you have to tell me where you two received your degrees," she replied.

They looked at one another in confusion. Fil folded his arms and poked his lips out while Leem rubbed a hand over his head.

"W-We didn't go ta college," Fil stuttered and glanced sideways to Leem. "Is she making fun of us?"

"Nah, she just wants ta know how we know how to do this stuff."

Katherine squinted down at them. "You've taken courses, then? I mean, a person cannot just know these kinds of things. That problem you are about to solve is one of my weeklies. You would have to have studied some pretty advanced math to work your way through it this far."

Fil frowned. "What's a weekly?"

Katherine smiled. "It's an optional assignment I give my students each week to work on if they're up to the challenge. Only a handful of them attempt the problems, one or two might actually turn in an answer. Fil, you've practically solved this one in under an hour. Sorry, Leem, you were close but he was right about that last inverse function."

Leem cursed and threw the marker down on the white board's ledge. "Damn, I thought I had 'im."

Fil smiled and twitched his brow. "I told you."

Katherine cleared her throat. "So? Spill it? Your education?"

Fil shrugged. "When ya go into MI6 training early like we did, they make ya do all manner of tests and try to figure out what you're best at. Leem's good wit languages so they sent him undercover to a lot o' places so he could learn the accents. I'm good at reading people so I did a lot of psychology courses. We were both sent to France for a bit and studied with this fellow named Rene Prurard but when they saw I was the one better wit numbers, I was conscripted to compile statistics and do analysis of surveillance data. It's boring as shite so I didn't last long in that position."

Katherine blinked rapidly. "Rene Prurard? Are you serious? He's only one of the greatest minds in French mathematics."

She looked between them.

"If you have these sorts of talents, why aren't you both in intelligence full time?"

Leem and Fil looked at each other and smirked as if in on a joke. Leem glanced back up at her with a boyish grin. Every time he looked at her that way, her heart skipped a beat. He was too handsome.

"We tend ta get in trouble. Problems with authority and such," he said with a shrug.

Fil nodded. "Yeah, that, and we also tested a lot higher in a different area."

She crooked a brow. "What's that?"

Leem's voice dropped an octave. "Combat."

She held her breath a moment. The man could send shivers up her spine with just the right inflection in his voice. His features darkened then and he looked at Fil. It was as if a switch flipped in his head and he lost all his good humor.

"I'm going to use the facilities," he said quickly. "Take care of the doctor."

Katherine frowned as she followed his hasty departure with her gaze. She rubbed her lips together to prevent a frown. He didn't call her Kat anymore. She had become 'the doctor' or 'Dr. Adams'. He had been all business since they'd returned to Cambridge.

"Don't take it personally, Dr. Adams," a deep voice commented.

Her eyes returned to Fil anxiously. "Wh-What?"

"I'm sorry he's been standoffish," Fil said hesitantly. "I –ah – might 'ave had something to do with that."

Katherine's face heated. "I, um, . . . what?"

"I gave him shit about you," Fil admitted. "Said he shouldn't be messing around. Told 'im it was unprofessional."

She looked away to conceal her expression. Her face burned. Guilt punched her in the abdomen.

"I-I don't see why you should apologize to me for anything. It's none of my business what you and he discuss."

She heard Fil shuffle around and glanced back down to see him putting on his shoes and blazer. He adjusted his cuffs with a contemplative expression.

"Well, I just thought you should know. I see you're sad sometimes when you look at 'im and I feel bad about that."

Katherine didn't know how to respond. The whole thing was a bit too much of a roller coaster. She swallowed.

"You can make it up, Fil," she smiled sadly. "Come up here, sit next to me, and tell me what you see. I need a fresh pair of eyes on this."

She found herself unable to concentrate thinking about Leem. The figures and numbers she had placed in the document camera to project on the screen were beginning to all blur together. Fil just might be able to help.

His eyes rounded. "My eyes?"

"Yes, yours! You know your 'maths', right?"

Fil's face deepened from a pink to crimson. "Not as well as you."

She smirked. "I should hope not, otherwise I'll be out of a job."

So, Fil took the seat next to her but stretched his feet out into the aisle. He was a bit larger than Leem, definitely an inch taller and somewhat broader in the shoulders. He had the same colour eyes, that sort of dark, greyish green, but his gaze was softer and less world-weary than his brother's.

"So, what am I lookin' at?" He asked as he tried to make himself comfortable.

"I don't know," she murmured as she returned to analyzing her computations. "What does it look like to you?"

"Um, give me a minute," he chuckled. "There's a lot up there."

Each of them stared silently at the screen, pouring over her work. Several minutes later, Fil sat forward.

"What do you see?" She asked.

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Strings."

"Strings?"

"It looks like one of the puzzles you gave us about the strings. The one about predicting the length of strings randomly cut from two rolls. That was a hard one. This mess seems as if it uses the same methodology."

Katherine scanned back over the algorithms behind the latest encryption she had cracked. Some very disconcerting realizations began to form.

"No," she muttered.

Fil coughed. "No? Shite, I shouldn't have said anything."

She chewed her lip. "Oh, crap, that's not what I meant. You're not entirely wrong. This follows that very closely, too closely. It's been modified to mask it but you're right in a way, it's that puzzle with a few twists.

A shiver coursed up her spine. She and her mentor had developed some of these problems together. In fact, the strings puzzle was his favorite. What had been hidden before her very eyes made her sick to her stomach. She turned to back to Fil. If what she suspected were true, things may not be what they seem.

"Can Mycroft be trusted?" Her eyes felt too large for her sockets.

Fil frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I-I just don't know him like you do. Can he be duplicitous? Would he betray his country?"

"No," Fil responded adamantly. "No, Mycroft loves England. I don't think there's anything else in the world he loves more. Um, well, maybe one thing. . ."

Katherine studied his face. "Truly? You and Leem think he's trustworthy? You've never had any doubts?"

He gave just the barest dip of his chin. "No doubts, Dr. Adams. He'd never admit this, but he's like . . . an uncle to me and Leem. He was the one who recruited us. He saved us from the street after our Mum died. Without 'im, who knows where we'd be."

She stood up. She didn't need any more reassurance. His endorsement was good enough for her.

"We have to go speak to him then."

"Right now?"

She nodded swiftly and looked around anxiously. "Yes, let's get Leem and get out of here."

Katherine and Fill packed up her things and shut down the projector equipment. She grabbed Leem's blazer and slung it over her arm. Then, she hurried towards the exit. Fil leapt in front of her and yanked it open. She grinned at him, stepped into the hall and stopped in her tracks when she saw Leem with Mycroft's assistant at the end of the corridor.

"Oh, hell," Fil muttered under his breath.

Katherine blinked and squinted as she tried to wrap her head around what she gazed upon. Leem had back against the wall with Anthea practically pressed up along his entire length. His tie was in her grasp and she was in the process of tugging it back into place as she looked up at him with her signature knowing smile. Katherine watched, dumbstruck a moment, until Anthea closed the space between them and kissed him on the cheek in a sort of lingering manner. Katherine's breath caught in her throat. A bubble of pain formed in her chest. Leem had such a tender look on his face.

"I am so relieved to see that you're alright," Anthea murmured. "I was worried."

"Were you?" Leem mumbled.

"Of course."

"Well, you don't have ta worry about me, Thea," he returned in a low voice. "You know it takes more than a graze to knock me down."

"Mm hmm, yes, I do know."

Leem laughed. "Where's the boss? He can't be far behind. You're going ta get yourself into trouble."

"Oh, I hope so."

It was as if they existed in their own little vacuum. Katherine spun quickly, not wanting to witness anymore and slipped back into the lecture hall. Fil followed.

"Dr. Adams, um," he grimaced. "Yeah, see . . ."

She knew her face had to be pale. It felt at once both warm and cold.

"It's none of my business," she whispered shakily.

"But it's nothing," Fil stammered. "I mean, it's not exactly nothin'. Leem's been in love with her forever. Um, shite, forget that. What I meant was, that nothing's ever come of it. She strings him along ta piss off Mycroft."

Katherine looked down at Leem's blazer that she still gripped tightly. "He's still in love with her?"

Fil rubbed his temples as if struck by a sudden headache. "I was just talking out of my ass, Dr. Adams. I don't know for sure."

She slung the blazer over a nearby seat. "Doesn't matter. It's none of my business. None."

Fil groaned. "He likes you, though. Don't be mad at him."

Even though her heart was breaking, she wasn't mad at Leem. He couldn't help that he was in love with someone else. Her face flushed again. All this time she had fooled herself into thinking their connection was something special. She'd blamed her situation from preventing anything more from developing between them. Turns out, she never had a chance.

Leem was already in love with someone else.


	14. Chapter 14

Leem grasped Anthea by the shoulders and set her back as Mycroft strolled through the entrance at the far end of the hall. The bright light from outside flashed as the doors swung closed. At almost the same instant, the phone in Mycroft's pocket rang so he stopped for a moment to take a call. His voice drifted down the corridor. Leem sighed as he looked back to his co-worker.

"You are a shameless flirt, Thea," he said in a low voice.

She smiled and wrinkled her nose. "I try, but you've become immune to me, haven't you?"

He couldn't help himself and laughed. "Yup. I sorted ya out a while back."

She crossed her arms and even though she had a bit of a pout, she still couldn't hide her smirk. "Damn, I'm losing my touch."

Leem looked towards Mycroft as he tapped his umbrella on the tile floor and spoke icily into his mobile. His eyes assessed the pair of them, then darkened before he turned away to reply to something he must have been asked.

"I wouldn't say that," Leem remarked. "He looks none too happy."

She crooked a brow and sneaked a peek before she poked her lips to one side. Leem watched a flicker of uncertainty cross her face. He felt bad for Anthea. She was in love with her boss but Mycroft was a very different bloke and had never showed any inclination to change their relationship. She glanced back his way.

"Did I ever say I'm sorry for the mixed messages, Leem? I mean, I've always had a soft spot for you but-"

He shook his head. "I ain't bothered, Thea. I'm a big boy and I like ya, but you didn't break my heart. You weren't ever for me anyways."

She cocked her head to one side, reached up and patted his cheek. "No, you deserve better than myself, that's for sure. You need someone as brilliant as you."

His face warmed. "Shut up now, or I'll start likin' you again."

She twitched her brows. "Don't you dare."

Anthea's eyes lingered on Mycroft once more. In clipped tones, he ended his conversation and walked towards them with his head down. Leem grabbed her arm.

"Let's give him something that'll get 'im really hot under the collar," he said with a smile. "Maybe that'll grease his gears."

Anthea's eyes went round. "Oh, crap, I don't know!"

Leem waited until Mycroft's head came up before he grabbed Anthea, dipped her and planted a kiss on her surprised lips. He almost laughed against her mouth as she giggled. Lord, he was sure if he had a sister, kissing her would feel the same. She didn't do anything for him and as she stiffly wrapped an arm around his neck and pretended to enjoy herself, he was certain she felt the same. Awkward didn't even begin to cover it.

Mycroft's shoes squeaked on the floor as he came to a stuttering stop. Leem listened to him gasp and clear his throat.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Leem suppressed a smile and swept Anthea back to her feet. He winked and then spun her away from him.

"Boss!" He feigned surprise.

Mycroft stood very straight looking down his nose at them with his lips slightly parted. His eye twitched. Then he blinked several times.

"My, my, Mr. Coley, you've become quite the Lothario," he said with an undercurrent of menace," and it's absolutely unacceptable. You're on the clock."

Leem looked away quickly so that Mycroft didn't read his deception. "Apologies, Boss."

His eyes flicked to Anthea. Her smirk faltered as she seemed unnerved by the tense exchange.

"Go fetch the doctor, Mr. Coley," Mycroft murmured, his gaze did not leave his assistant.

Leem caught Anthea's eye. She nodded her head towards the lecture hall where he had left Fil and Katherine earlier. He wasn't worried about leaving Mycroft and Anthea alone together. She wouldn't get in any trouble.

* * *

Anthea started after Leem but with a snap of his wrist, Mycroft halted her advance by setting down the spike of his umbrella in her path. She placed her hands on her hips and twisted her brow.

"Problem, Boss?"

He stepped closer and studied her face with down-turned lips. She held her breath as she turned to find him a mere six inches away.

"I'm surprised at you, Anthea," he muttered.

She lifted her chin. "Surprised at what?"

He huffed a breath. "Oh, let me think. Hmm, how about your unprofessionalism? I mean, really. You are not getting paid to cavort with Leem Coley-"

She scoffed. "It's Saturday. I'm not getting paid at all."

His brows drew together. He pulled his lips back a moment. Then his head tilted sideways as he thought about something. He looked uncomfortable.

"You should put in for overtime remuneration then," Mycroft straightened his back.

Anthea snorted. "It's not worth my time to do the paperwork required for a few paltry quid."

A ripple of confusion travelled through his face. He shook his head. Suddenly, Anthea felt the need to escape. She was so tired of being taken for granted by him. He dropped his umbrella and grabbed her arm before she could brush by him.

"D-Do I not pay you enough?"

"For this job? No, you never have."

His fingers tightened around her wrist. She swallowed as she felt his thumb absentmindedly rub her palm.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He murmured. "You're unhappy. How did I miss that you were unhappy?"

He scanned her face. Anthea turned her head as the search went on.

"I-I can't have you unhappy, Anthea," his voice lowered as he pleaded. "What do you need? Name your price."

Her fingers trembled as she looked up into his blue eyes. "There is no price. Money has nothing to do with why I am at your beck and call, Mycroft."

He blinked as she said his name. It even sounded a little strange to her own ears. She always addressed him as 'Boss' or 'Sir'.

"I don't follow," he breathed, but his eyes betrayed a glimmer of understanding.

They went round all of a sudden. If her nerves weren't so frayed, she'd laugh. He appeared dumbfounded. Few people could put that expression on his face. In fact, she knew of only one other - his little brother, Sherlock. Her flesh began to tingle where he held her wrist. She could count on one hand the number of times he'd incidentally touched her. She couldn't remember a time he had ever made deliberate contact. This was so out of character for him.

"Dear God, Anthea," he stammered as his eyes enlarged. "Tell me I am mistaken. Tell me that you do not harbor any . . . sentiment for me."

She didn't know whether she wanted to slap him or surprise him by kissing him or something else equally as mad.

"Have you ever known me to lie?" She asked softly.

He shook his head.

"I am not about to start," she whispered.

He looked down momentarily to where he still held onto her and gave his head a shake. He cleared his throat.

"Why?" He met her eyes again.

Anthea frowned. "Why? Why do I have feelings for you, you mean?"

His nostrils flared. "Y-Yes."

In that moment, she saw someone she hadn't expected to see. Someone who thought themselves undeserving of admiration. She wanted to cry. She never cried.

"Because you are a good man," she whispered. "Because you always say you don't care but you care a great deal about everything and everyone. You have such amazing gifts and you use them exactly as you ought, to defend and protect those who cannot do so for themselves."

He swallowed. "You are mistaken. I-I am not a good man."

She reached up, hesitated and touched the buttons on his vest. His abdomen twitched beneath her hand.

"You are a _great_ man."

Mycroft's eyes moved back and forth over her face as if looking at her for the first time and trying to make sense of what he saw. His brow furrowed, then he shifted forward. Anthea felt a flutter in her belly as the space between them disappeared. He finally released her wrist only to skim his hand up her arm until his fingers shakily feathered over her jaw.

"So, this business with Mr. Coley? What was it then?" He grumbled.

Her breaths felt weighty from her lips. She had never before seen that stormy look in his eyes. She couldn't resist splaying her fingers out over his chest.

"Erm, a cry for attention?"

His eyes constricted. "It was unnecessary."

She hiked a brow. "Oh, really? Because I-"

Anthea was unable to complete her rebuke. In a heartbeat, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. A tremor coursed through her body. She felt a similar reaction in him under her fingertips. Then, the kiss deepened. She opened her mouth moved her lips eagerly in tune with his. She couldn't believe it. All these years she had wanted to know what it was like to kiss him and it was better than she had imagined.

A few moments later, he broke away with heaving breaths.

"Good Lord," he murmured, his skin was flushed. "I've lost my mind."

Her breath hitched. He must have observed her expression fall because his lips drooped.

"Apologies, my darling," he breathed. "I am just disappointed in my own behavior. I should not be pouncing on you in public and certainly not at work."

Anthea smirked. "So, . . . you want to pounce on me then? And I'm your darling?"

His face went red. He stretched his neck and opened his mouth to speak but he appeared flustered and nothing came out.

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "A simple 'yes' will suffice."

His eyelids fluttered. "Ahem, yes. Of course, but you know I am married-"

She frowned. "No, you are not!"

Mycroft sighed. "I am married to my job . . . to England. She will always come first. This is why I have never encouraged a relationship between us. You deserve more."

Anthea hugged him tightly, catching him off guard. His hands came to rest on her back shortly thereafter.

"I don't need to be first in your life, my love," she whispered. "I will settle for being your mistress. You don't need to leave your, hmph, _wife._ "

His arms tightened around her. "Will that be enough?"

She nodded into his neck. "It's more than I ever hoped for."

* * *

"Where is Ka-, I mean, Dr. Adams?"

Leem had an uneasy feeling as if he had let her out of his sight for too long. He scanned up and down the lecture theatre and its rows of empty seats.

"She was just checking on something in the back room," Fil muttered.

Leem glanced at Fil as he stretched out in one of the front row with his arms crossed over his chest. His brow was slightly furrowed and his lips set in a line. He looked irritated.

"What's wrong wit you?" Leem prodded.

Fil shrugged. "Whatever. You know, I don't want ta get in the middle of anything."

"What do you mean?"

His brother just waved his hand in his direction.

"Spit it out before I come over there and slap it out of ya."

Fil sat up. "Good luck with that!"

"Fil!"

"She saw you with Anthea, dumbass. We came to find you and overheard your little conversation in the hall."

Leem felt his eyes go large. "You're kidding me! Fuck! How much did she see? Did she see me kiss Anthea?"

Fil huffed. "You kissed her? Jesus Christ!"

"No! I mean, yes, but it wasn't what it looked like. What did Kat see?"

"Just Anthea draped over you, kissin' ya on the cheek. Dr. Adams ran back in here pretty quick," his eyes skittered away. "Um, aaand I might have said something stupid."

Leem looked towards the room Katherine supposedly inhabited. The feeling of unease grew.

"What did you say?" He nearly shouted at his brother.

"Ah, well, I told her that you had feelings for Anthea b-but that nothing's ever happened between you two."

Leem started towards Fil. "I'm going to fuckin' kill you. For real, this time!"

Fil shot up to his feet and stumbled back. He waved his hands.

"It just slipped out. Sorry!"

Leem bunched his fists at his sides. He was pissed at his brother but it was his own fault for letting Anthea accost him. He took a deep breath. He just needed to explain to Katherine what she had seen, minus what followed, of course. He pointed at his brother with emphasis.

"I will deal with you later!"

He turned and in a couple of steps, yanked open the door to the room at the side of the lecture hall. The room was empty. The only signs someone had been in the space was an overturned chair, a purse spilled open next to it and the flapping of curtains in front of an open window.

Katherine was gone.


	15. Chapter 15

Leem chewed on his thumbnail nervously, paced and watched as Sherlock Holmes painstakingly surveyed the storage room at the back of the lecture hall. The detective kept muttering to himself and moving from place to place to view things from different angles. Every so often, he would close his eyes, mouth something, shake his head and then continue his inspection.

"This scene makes it look as if Dr. Adams was set upon," Sherlock hunched over and swiped at the carpet. "Yeees . . . it certainly _appears_ that way."

He rubbed his finger and thumb together as he squinted his eyes in thought.

"Yet, you suspect otherwise?" Mycroft added from where he leaned against the room's only doorway.

Sherlock wrinkled his nose and huffed. "Shut up, Mycroft, you're putting me off."

"Excuse me?" His brother straightened his spine and stared down at him over his nose. "I'm putting you off?"

Sherlock rose quickly.

"Yes," he scanned him and then flicked his gaze to Anthea who flanked his left. "Perhaps it's the remnants of lipstick on your lips, erm, Dior Nude Blush? Not really your colour. Then again, maybe that faint scent of Gaultier Classique you've donned ah, . . . _acquired?_ . . . is the culprit."

Fil, just behind Leem, snorted and stifled a laugh. Mycroft's lips parted in surprise. Then he seemed to gather himself and shake his head haughtily.

"Careful what you imply, brother mine," he hissed.

Sherlock stepped closer to Mycroft with a steely gaze. "Would you rather I be more blunt?"

If the hair was any longer on Leem's head, he would pull fistfuls of it from his scalp. "Please, Mr. Holmes, boss, what is going on? Has Kat-, I mean, Dr. Adams been kidnapped or what?"

It had taken Sherlock an hour to arrive at Cambridge to assess the small room from which Kat seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Leem thought he was going to come apart at the seams. His fingers vibrated. He was sweating. The floor beneath his feet felt as if it were quicksand trying to suck him down. All he wanted to do was move, go somewhere or do something, anything to relieve this anxiety that had his stomach churning.

Sherlock adjusted his coat. "No, Leem. Katherine left this room under her own volition. Her phone as well as one of the cards from her wallet are both missing. Kidnappers would hardly bother to fish through her belongings for those two items. No, she has gone off somewhere on her own. Perhaps she wanted us to think it was involuntary but then again, I'm not entirely convinced about that possibility either. She had to have known I might come to this conclusion. Hmm . . . "

The detective spun on his heel and began pacing again. His nostrils flared.

"She's clever, Katherine," he mumbled. "She took just one card with her but it wasn't a bank card or credit card. Neither was it a driver's license or any other major piece of ID. Yet, the smooth patina in the slot the card held indicates she used it a lot. What was that card? What am I missing?"

"But, I don' get that," Fil interjected. "She didn't have any reason ta run off . . . um, well, not really, I don't think. She was hell bent on tellin' Mycroft somethin' important. Although . . ."

Mycroft sniffed. "What? Although what?"

Fil rubbed his lips together and crinkled his nose. "She asked if you could be trusted."

The older Holmes' chin retracted. His eyes went large. "Me? She wanted to know if I could be trusted?"

Fil nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Sherlock stopped in his tracks. "What did you tell her? I want to know exactly what you said."

Leem watched his brother turn a bit pink.

"I told her Mycroft loves England. Um, ahem, and that there's only thing he loves more," he looked guiltily at Anthea. "A-Also that he was like an Uncle to me and Leem 'cause he rescued us from the streets and we owed him a lot. Something like that anyhow."

Mycroft blinked several times and frowned in confusion. His head twitched as he appeared to try to wrap his head around the revelation.

Sherlock smirked. "That's very . . . sentimental of you, Fil."

Mycroft rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Oh, do shut up, Sherlock," he muttered. "So, Dr. Adams was satisfied by your testimonial, then?"

Fil nodded vigorously. "Yup, like I said. She had something important to tell you and she was keen on getting out of here, that was until she saw Leem and Anthea in the hall, erm, talking. We returned to the theatre to wait since we figured if she was here, so were you."

Leem cursed and wiped his hand over his brow. Sherlock narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Why did she come back here to the storage room?"

Fil inhaled deeply and let out a stunted breath. "She got a text. She told me she wanted to make a quick call in private. Fuckin' hell, if I thought for a second she was gonna take off on me, I wouldn't 'ave let her in here on her own."

Sherlock nodded slowly, then turned on his heel and then flitted off to continue poking at things. The small room fell silent for a minute.

Leem eventually cleared his throat. "So what do we do now? How do we find her?"

Mycroft pointed the tip of his umbrella at the bodyguards one by one. "You two do not need concern yourself with this case any longer. As of this moment, consider yourselves reassigned. I want you to leave immediately and report back to George Jeffries."

"Jeffries?" Fil moaned. "We're being demoted?"

Leem furrowed his brow. Mycroft stepped towards them with a glower.

"Yes, Dr. Adams is one of our best assets. She helped decrypt communications which led to thwarting of an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister. Her work also prevented a terror attack on the Underground. She was in the midst of tracing the source of one of the largest security breaches in history and you let her slip away under your very nose as if you were rookie agents."

"Mr. Holmes-"

"Don't get me started on you, Leem Coley," Mycroft said gruffly as he looked at him with constricted eyes. "I am most disappointed in your behavior towards our charge."

Leem pressed his lips together. He felt his face go cold as the blood seemed to flee his flesh. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to fold in on himself. There was a tightness to Mycroft's lips and stress in the set of his brow. That look reaffirmed his words. The shame hit him like a kick to his belly.

"Your _nephews_ here saved her life Slovakia. Surely that's worth something," Anthea interrupted. "Not to mention, they are your best agents. They've more than earned forgiveness for their countless contributions."

Mycroft sighed as he rolled his eyes towards her. "I am aware of all that. However, today, I cannot call them my best agents."

Anthea softened her voice. "Mycroft-"

He nearly growled as she tried to press him. "I assure you, your continuing to speak on their behalf will only serve to aggravate me."

"Boss," Leem jumped in. "Boss, I have given my life to MI6-"

A sharp crack sounded as Sherlock clapped his hands together. "That's it!"

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Really, you can all shut up now. I've figured it out," he licked his lips quickly. "Dr. Adams is sacrificing herself. It's the only explanation. That text she received must have been a threat that involved one or all of us. Otherwise, she would have let us know about it. Likely, whoever sent it has convinced her to come to them. They probably coerced her into keeping it a secret but like I said, she's clever. Katherine is very clever. It's obvious why she took her phone. She would need to stay in contact with the person making the threat. However, she took a card from her wallet, just one. I'm convinced it's a message. We need to find out what that missing card is . . . the card is the key."

Mycroft hiked a brow. "The card is the key?"

Sherlock closed his eyes for a moment. Various parts of his face jerked as he seemed to scan his internal files.

Finally, his eyes flew open. "Yes! The card is the key!"

Mycroft groaned. "You said that already."

"And I'll say it again!" He spat. "The CARD is the key. It's a KEY card. As a staff member of Cambridge, she would have been issued an employee id card that doubled as a swipe key for electronic entry. That's why the slot with the missing card is so worn. She uses it all the time. It is also one of the reasons she took it, she wanted to warn us without giving herself away. If your mind wasn't preoccupied with other things, older brother, you could have deduced all this. You could have put two and two together. Dr. Adams hasn't run off."

Mycroft's mouth fell open as he dropped his chin. "Good God!"

Leem inhaled a quick breath as it dawned on him what Sherlock was getting at.

Sherlock nodded with a grim set to his lips. "Yes. Mycroft, I think you better rescind your order. Leem and Fil are needed right here to search for Dr. Adams. She's still on campus."


	16. Chapter 16

_Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics, I can assure you mine are still greater. –K_

 _Who will observe the observers? -K_

Leem legs burned as he ran down the narrow Garrett Hostel Lane. His thigh underneath his recovering injury throbbed but he pushed forward, sprinting past a fellow bobbing his head in tune to whatever he was listening to through his headset. Leem looked up at the darkening strip of sky above the rooves of the brick structures flanking him on either side. His pants echoed off the walls as if he listened to stereo surround. There were fewer and fewer people about and many of the buildings were beginning to close up for the night. Shortcuts were becoming scarce.

He had figured out where Kat had gone after receiving what seemed like an innocuous pair of texts from her mobile. Einstein! Eddington! He had wanted to jump from his own skin. She had quoted those two great men in the hopes he would understand the subtext of her messages. He had. At least, he hoped he had and prayed he could get to her on time. She must have learned about his idolization of the two physics masters from Molly. It made his heart ache that she would recite the words of two of his absolute heroes back to him in her hour of need.

Leem stopped at the end of the street where it teed into Trinity Lane. He went left in the hopes the door leading to his destination was open but discovered it locked tight.

"Fuck!"

He heaved in a breath and started running in the opposite direction. He'd have to circle the building and try another door. Failing that, he would scale a wall to get into Caius Court and then beyond into Gonville Court where he was sure Kat awaited her almost certain death. It was nearing five o'clock. The bells of the old chapel would ring to signal the hour. No one would hear a gunshot going off in the midst of their tolling. At least, that would be his thinking if he had chosen this place for an execution.

When Leem reached the south entrance and the ceremonial graduation passage into the old courts, he discovered that it too was locked. He stepped back from the heavy, arched door with its weighty steel pull. The carved stone and concrete surround that rose high above him like a miniature courthouse complete with columns, spires and a five-sided tower with several sundials on faces in all directions. He looked to either side of the entry. The walls separating the lane from the inner court were ten feet in height at least.

He looked back at the fancy, carved façade. He noted various foot and toe holds. Yup, he was going to have to scale this thing. He backed up across the stone lane, inhaled deeply, practiced a couple of springing jumps then glanced left and right to ensure he would not be seen. Then, he launched himself at the façade, first jumping up to catch the narrow lip of the top of a faux column and subsequently scrambling against the stone to hoist himself even higher. For a moment, he thought he was going to lose his grip, but grunted, gritted his teeth and propelled himself up enough to grasp the next ledge. Once he had hold of that, he was able to stuff a toe onto the column where his fingers had been. He took a few breaths and hung off the side of the façade a moment. Then, he stretched himself up to the cornice that ran the length of the entry and heaved himself up onto it next to a spire. He looked up and down the empty lane again. With a quick jump and skip around the spire, he sidestepped along the wall until he spotted an empty space between two bushes in the court below. Fortunately, it was only a six feet or so to the ground on the other side. He jumped down and remain crouched as he looked out into the open area of Caius Court.

Leem's shoulders tensed. This was an agent's worst nightmare. This court was essentially a square expanse consisting of a manicured lawn and stone walkways surrounded by the walls of buildings. Several windows faced the court from the two story structures on either side. Across from his position was the old chapel with its numerous tall, stained glass windows. No matter what path a person took through the court, he or she could be seen from any one of these windows.

He looked to the arch beneath the chapel that led to the court beyond and where he hoped Kat still waited. The Gonville court was even smaller than this one. There was only one way in and out at this time of day, and that was through the arch. It was the perfect dead end.

Leem closed his eyes a moment. Steadied his breath and then sprang into action. He didn't even bother trying to conceal himself. He ran straight for the archway beneath the chapel and thundered through it. Once through the passage, he saw Katherine sitting on a bench with her hands folded on her lap on the far side of the smaller court. He nearly collapsed as he felt his knees go weak. He bent over heaving a moment with burning lungs as he looked across the small expanse of turf. Kat jumped up from her seat. His heart practically imploded in his chest. She looked so incredibly small, his tiny, brave, determined, frustrating . . . wait . . . his? He cursed. His! For some reason, his blood began to heat. Hairs bristled on the back of his neck. He stood and cricked his neck sideways.

His.

* * *

Katherine trembled as Leem approached her from across the court with eyes so dark, they glinted like obsidian stones. She was at once both relieved and a bit frightened by the sight of him looking at her intensely.

"Y-You found me," she stammered as he approached.

He loomed over her, blocking the dwindling dusk light. He was almost as broad as he was tall. She swallowed as she took in the sight of him. He had abandoned his blazer. His crisp, white shirt was unbuttoned at his throat, its sleeves pushed up to his elbows over his muscular forearms. He looked away as he glanced around the courtyard. She studied the slightly crooked bridge of his nose and the strong line of his jaw as a muscle flecked within it. Before his gaze returned, his arm shot out and he grasped her around the waist. Next thing she knew, he had hauled her sideways into the shelter of a deep alcove and pinned her up against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked gruffly. "You're in a fucking corner here. There's no way out of this, Kat."

His head tilted back a bit and a bit of the waning light outlined his handsome face as he stared down at her. She didn't know what to say. She felt very foolish for having left but at the time she had received the text threatening everyone and everything she knew, she didn't feel like she had a choice. The cold realization had hit her not too long after she had squeezed out of the storage room window that she was going to her death. She had sent Leem the texts so at least he would have some clue as to where to look for her body.

"Kat?" He rasped, his hot breaths fanned her face. "Why would you do this? Why would you put yourself in danger like this?"

Her eyes stung. "Y-You don't understand, Leem. He said he would kill you all. All of you. Sherlock, Molly, their baby, Mycroft, Fil . . . you. I don't know how he knew but he knew about you."

His eyes constricted in confusion as he frowned. "Knew what about me?"

"H-He knew . . . he knew about us . . . about how I felt, um, feel about you."

The glint of his eyes flickered in the dark as he blinked. "What do you mean? How can anyone know that? I don't even know that."

"You are the one who called me a horny squid, you arse. I think you have a good idea what's going on inside my head."

Leem shook his head slowly as he searched her face. "Nah, I don't, actually."

"Leem," her voice strained, "I-I . . . I'm in love with you. Like that's so completely fucking obvious- oomph!"

His lips slammed own on hers then, stifling the rest of her words. The ferocity in which he kissed her, the desperation in the way his lips moved over hers, caught her off guard for a moment. Soon though, she slung her arms over his shoulders and hoisted herself up against him to kiss him back. If he wanted to disentangle himself from her, he was going to have a difficult time as she was fully latched on. He might even have suction marks on his skin by the time she was done.

"Kat," he murmured against her lips. "Who's trying to take you from me? Who do I have to smite? 'Cause I'm goin' ta wipe him off the face of the Earth."

A flush washed through her abdomen. He was so fearsome, her own personal avenger. She believed him and his every menacing word. However, an icy-cold tingle travelled up her spine all the same. She was terrified. She didn't want him to put himself in danger. Not for her.

"It's my old boss, Dr. Ross," she whispered. "He's not dead. He's still alive somehow. He's the one who was selling the spyware masquerading as security software and he knows I've figured that out. That's why he wants me dead. I can prove it was him. Not only that, I can prove he's not working by himself. The British government is involved, or quite a few people in it, at least."

Leem growled. "Is that why you asked Fil if Mycroft could be trusted?"

She nodded. "And I believed Fil, I did."

"Damn, Kat, then why didn't you trust Mycroft? Why come meet this guy when you know he's going to kill you?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Dr. Ross s-said he'd leave you all alone. He convinced me that this was all too big for me to tackle alone-"

Leem exhaled a heavy sigh. "But you're not fucking alone. You have two of the most bloody brilliant men in Britain ta help you . . . and also the Holmes, them too, I guess."

Katherine sputtered a laugh. "Listen to you!"

"That's right, listen to me, Kat. You're not alone. You have me. Understand? You. Have. Me."

She sniffled as she nodded. How stupid she had been!

"What do we do now?" She asked.

Leem looked out toward the court with a steely expression.

"Run, Kat, as fast as you can through the arch to the far end of the next court. Just . . . run. Let's hope we get lucky a second time."


	17. Chapter 17

Katherine swallowed as she nodded at Leem and recalled what he had just said.

 _"Run, Kat, as fast as we can through the arch to the far end of the next court. Let's hope we get lucky a second time."_

There was so much more she wanted to say to him but it wasn't the time or place. If these were their last moments together, she would not burden them with sorrow. She reached a shaking hand to his face and traced his brow and lips. He shook his head.

"Kat, I'm going to get you outta this and you're going to forget me, okay?"

She puckered her lips briefly. "Not bloody likely!"

"Yeah, you are and you'll stop spouting such nonsense about bein' in love with me."

Her heart thudded to a stop. Oh, that hurt. She had told him she loved him and he dismissed her feelings. She looked down and sucked in a few shaky breaths in an attempt to prevent herself from crying.

"N-Nonsense?"

Leem drew his brows together but before he could reply, a loud bang echoed through the courtyard followed immediately by a hiss and a crack in the stones of the entry they had hid themselves in. Katherine instantly recognized the sound as that of a gunshot. Leem pulled her deeper into the enclave and then yanked at the metal gate preventing them from escaping into the building beyond. He swore as it refused to budge. A few more shots rang out, sending chips of stone flying at them. She covered her mouth to stifle a cry. This was it, they were going to die.

"Get back," Leem roughly shoved her into the corner, then closed his eyes as he put himself between her and the bullets flying in their direction.

Katherine watched his eyes dance beneath his lids as if lost in thought. Several additional bangs followed. He leaned closer, enveloping her in his warmth.

"There's just one gunman shooting from the third window at this end of the court on the second floor," he murmured, "but his angle is off. He can't shoot us in this corner."

"What do we do?" Katherine was shaking.

She held his sides, desperate to be anchored by his strength. She could barely hear her own thoughts there was so much blood rushing through her ears. Her pulse jumped in her neck. Leem fished out his phone and started texting furiously. Another shot pinged off the metal security gate, just inches from his back.

"Fuck, that was too close," he cursed as he peered over his shoulder, "the shooter has moved, I think. He's coming for us. I've sent word to Fil, Mycroft and Sherlock but I don't think they can get here on time."

Leem flicked his jacket open, pulled out his gun, pried her fingers open and slapped the cool metal handgun into her palm. "There's a chance for you to make it, Kat. I'm probably going down first. When I do, you crawl under me and lie here. Don't move. Play dead. If it looks as if this guy is going to shoot, you unload, understand? You need to buy yourself time if you're going to live."

"Y-You want me to h-hide," she stammered, "u-under your dead body?"

He smiled. "Yeah, 'course I would prefer you were hiding under my very much alive body and that we were naked but that's not really an option right now."

She frowned at him. "Don't joke. Don't talk like that and stop smiling! What is wrong with you? You shouldn't be so blasé about dying."

Leem sighed and kissed the tip of her nose. His eyes sparkled in the ever receding light. The sun was nearly set.

"I've had a good run. I don't have any regrets. I got to meet you, didn't I? I got a girl like you ta fancy herself . . . in love . . . with me," his voice faltered a moment before he cleared it. "I'm going to die a happy man because of you, Kat. Every fuckin' moment I spent with you was worth it, alright? Every single second."

Tears burned a path down her cheeks. "Damn you, same here, you know. God, you're killing me with talk like that."

Then, the court beyond their enclave seemed to go eerily quiet and a voice reverberated across the pitch.

"Dr. Katherine Adams!" A man's deep timber shouted.

She froze. Dr. Ross called her name. Even though she knew he was still alive, the tone of his voice reminded her of a resurrected phantom from a horror film. Leem turned his head towards the sound. As Katherine gazed at his stoic profile, she came to a decision. She was not going to let him die for her, she simply wasn't going to let that happen. She carefully slipped the gun he had given her into the rear of the waistband of her leggings where it felt secure. She heaved in a breath. With a strength she didn't know she had, she shoved him away from her.

"Stay here," she commanded.

He gawked at her, stunned a moment. She dipped her head apologetically, evaded his grasp as he fumbled for her and just started running. He called in her wake but she ignored him. Her feet pounded along the turf until someone stepped in her path and she skidded to a stop.

"Katherine," a dark figure said in a sing-song voice, "Katherine, Katherine, Katherine!"

"D-Dr. Ross!" She rasped, gulping in breaths.

The man stepped nearer and she could better make out that it was indeed her old mentor. He had dyed his hair black or a dark brown to mask they grey. He had grown a mustache and it looked as if he had gained a significant amount of weight. He also had tanned to a deep golden brown. Something about that observation made her furious. While she had been trying to save the world from the likes of him, he had been on vacation enjoying his ill-gotten gains.

"Well, what do we do, Katherine Adams?" Dr. Ross hissed. "What do we do? I asked you to come alone and yet, your, ahem, bodyguard is here."

"He doesn't know anything," she returned quickly. "He followed me, that's all. Come on, Dr. Ross, you want me dead, I don't want anyone else to get hurt. We should go somewhere more discreet, don't you think?"

Dr. Ross raised his arm. Something metallic glinted in his grasp. She stepped back.

"I think you've been alive long enough, Katherine."

There was a resolve in his eyes as he cocked his gun. He was going to kill her, and then probably Leem, whose gun she had taken. She berated herself for being a dummy. She frantically tried to think of some way to stall him. Desperately, she dropped to her knees and held up her hands as if praying.

"Wait!" She begged. "Wait, please!"

Off in the distance, the muffled buffeting of a helicopter's blades rumbled in the sky. It momentarily distracted Dr. Ross and he looked in the direction of the sound. Kat didn't hesitate in retrieving Leem's gun from behind her back. This man had tried to have her killed. He had threatened everyone she knew and held dear. He had a fucking vacation tan, the fucker! In less than a heartbeat, she whipped the gun out, aimed and pulled the trigger at almost the same instant his eyes found hers again.

Dr. Ross' body jerked as the bullet slammed into his abdomen. His eyes went wide with surprise. He clutched at his stomach, stumbled back and collapsed. He splayed out on his back and appeared to go limp. Numbly, Katherine spun away and tried not to gag.

"Kat!"

She was nearly hyperventilating. Her hands shook so violently, she almost dropped the gun. Leem came running over to her, pulled her to her feet and crushed her in his arms.

"You daft, daft, chick," he mumbled into her hair. "That was so, incredibly stupid. So stupid . . . and so fucking brave."

Katherine's mouth felt dry. She had just shot Dr. Ross, a man she once looked upon as a father figure but also, a man who had betrayed that trust. She shoved the gun back in Leem's hand, then threw her arms around his neck and started bawling. They stood there embracing a few minutes until the pulsing beat of a helicopter's rotors and the shine of a bright spotlight became too much to ignore.

"Backup is here," Leem chuckled into her ear.

She nodded and raised her head. Just as she did, she heard the rapid succession of a pair of shots and felt the biting sear of something lance her calf as well as an explosion of pain along her ribcage. What follow was a blur. She was shoved aside, a chorus of loud pops erupted next to her and then she started to go down. She clutched at her side as she crumpled to the ground. Something warm and liquid coated her hands. Overwhelming, fiery pain stole her breath. She tried to focus, but her head swam. Sounds faded, sensations dulled.

Then, she blacked out.


	18. Chapter 18

Consciousness for Katherine began as a prickling along her ribcage and the steady buzz of electronic equipment in her ears. In the blackness, she could envision a streak of nerves along her side pulsing and flaring as she struggled to find her way to the light. As the blackness began to recede, the prickling morphed into sharp stinging and then into a kind of breath-stealing, searing throb.

"Hu-hu-huh!" She cried as she came fully aware of the pain.

As her limbs jerked, another, less intense injury made itself known on her calf. She groaned, then felt the reassuring squeeze of someone's large hand on her forearm.

"Kat?" Came a familiar murmur. "Are you awake?"

One by one, she lifted her heavy lids and blinked several times until Leem came into focus. She realized she was in a hospital room, stretched out on a bed. The lights had been dimmed but they were still bright enough to cause her to squint. She shifted again on her narrow mattress. Her arms and legs felt sluggish and her heart beat like the thrum of hummingbird wings in her chest.

"Leem?" She rasped.

She studied his atypically handsome face anxiously. His greyish green eyes were dark underneath a heavy brow and the corners of his full lips tense. He had a conflicted, pensive expression but otherwise looked in perfect health. She tried to remember why she might have thought differently. Then she saw a rush of images and heard the echoes of gunshots as she vividly recalled her most recent harrowing memories. She jolted, tried to sit up, but her head swam and she felt sick to her stomach. She inhaled a hiss of air between her teeth.

"Whoa, there, Miss Kat," Leem cajoled. "You're safe, you're a wee bit damaged, but safe. Just rest, okay?"

She drew in a shuddering breath. The pain along her ribs was excruciating.

"Unh," she groaned. "Christ, I hurt. Was I-I shot?"

Leem moved closer, leaned over her reclined form and brushed hair back from her face. "Yes, you mad woman. You took two bullets that should have been mine ta catch. One sliced your lower leg which they stitched up, the other ricocheted off your rib but not before bustin' it in a few pieces. You had surgery and got a couple pins holding the bone together. You'll heal, though. You're lucky your Dr. Ross was such a terrible shot."

Kat clutched at his arm and lifted her head from the thin pillow. "Dr. Ross!?"

Leem's eyes went nearly black. He cricked his neck.

"He's dead, Kat. Unfortunately that first shot of yours didn't quite incapacitate him. I unloaded the rest of my clip into the sorry son of a bitch after he shot you."

"Does Mycroft know? Do they know what Dr. Ross was up to?"

"Yeah, shit's hittin' the fan, Kat. All thanks to you. The past day has been nuts. Fil cracked the encrypted files ya sent him with a bit of help from Sherlock and they've been clearing house rootin' out all the professor's co-conspirators. It's all out there now. Mycroft thinks you won't have anything to worry about after this."

She breathed a sigh of relief but winced as another knife of pain lanced her side. "A-ah, shit!"

Katherine closed her eyes and let her head fall back as she sucked in air over and over to will away the agony blossoming along her side. Large, strong fingers threaded between hers and a hand stroked her head.

"Squeeze my hand, Kat," her companion said softly. "I know it hurts, I'm sorry."

She nodded and continued to breathe as she gripped him firmly but soon, trembled all over from the effort to control the pain. Tears rolled from her lids and down her cheeks. She felt a thumb brush them away and then lips press to her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Kat," Leem whispered, "they didn't want to give ya too much medication on account of your, um, current health status. Do ya want me to go get the nurse? I don't know how much they can do for you. Ya might just have to bear it-"

She was about to nod but there was an odd undercurrent in his voice.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean about my 'health status'?" She asked.

All manner of apocalyptic scenarios ran through her mind. Had they discovered something while she was unconscious? Did she have a massive tumor or raging venereal disease or some other terminal illness?

He swallowed. "Ah, let me just go get the nurse . . ."

Leem tried to stand up but she grasped at his arm and refused to let go. "Leem Coley, spill it, n-now."

Whatever was wrong with her, she wanted to hear it from him. He sat back down with a strange, almost guilty look on his face like a pup who had stolen food from the table. His eyes dropped to the floor and he fiddled with the edge of the cot's sheet. He opened his mouth to speak several times, his lips formed words but speech seemed to falter him. Finally, he inhaled a chest-filling breath and looked up at her with eyes a little too large for his face.

"Y-You are . . . " He closed his eyes briefly and raised his brows, "you're expectin'. . . a baby, that is. You're pregnant."

If ever there was an effective, non-medicinal pain reliever, that kind of news would be it. Katherine blinked at him too many times to count, her ribs completely forgotten. She searched his face. It had to be some kind of joke. She had been taking her birth control steadily, well, except for the last little while during all the chaos of fleeing to and from Eastern Europe. She slapped a hand over her mouth. They'd had sex all of two times but the most recent was barely a week or so ago. She must have become pregnant the very first time they'd had sex.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Leem folded her other hand between his and stared down at it as he rubbed his fingers over her flesh. "N-Now, I don't want ta assume too much but it's very recent accordin' to the docs an' as far as I know, you hadn't been with anyone else. So, um, yeah, what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for you findin' yourself in this position but I'll support you whatever you want ta do . . . if you don't plan ta keep it, you can ask for medication. They just wanted to see what you preferred first before . . . b-before dosing the little one any further."

Katherine raised her head, looked down at her midsection and slid her free hand over her belly which was beneath the layers of bedding and her hospital gown. She didn't feel any different yet somehow, she knew what he spoke was the truth. She let her head fall again. A lingering weakness made it hard for her to do anything except lie there. The information seeped through her consciousness and sunk in. She was pregnant . . . with his baby. Their eyes met and she felt herself flush all over.

"Kat, d-do you want me to get someone?"

She shook her head quickly, her decision instantly made. "No, no, I can manage. I don't want any medication."

Leem appeared to breathe a sigh of relief and then proceeded to look flustered. His face turned pink and he cleared his throat.

"Alright, then," he murmured. "Mm, ahem, is there anything else I can get you? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

Katherine couldn't fathom eating. Her stomach felt a bit queasy. Lord, was that her run-in with death or the baby? Baby! Her whole life had been focused on education, research, and her career. She had all but given up on finding a man she could settle down with and have a family. No one had seemed to want a headstrong math professor with a taste for misadventure as a partner. Her eyes flicked to Leem. She would give her left arm to know what he was thinking at that instance. Was he upset?

"I'm not hungry, thank-you," she replied finally.

Her voice sounded thready and thin. The pain in her ribs returned with a vengeance and she shut her eyes once more.

"Shite, I shouldn't have told you all that yet," Leem muttered. "You're pale. How are you feeling, Sweetheart?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Sweetheart! That had to be a slip of the tongue.

"I'm not going to lie, it hurts a lot. I feel like someone struck me with a sledgehammer."

Leem's fingers worked their way over her scalp and massaged it gingerly. Hope sparked within her. He was comforting her, he was there, he hadn't run screaming into the night with this earth-shattering revelation.

"Ah, well, you're managin' it better than I did the first time I got shot. I was moanin' like a beached manatee. Just relax and try not ta move too much. Eventually your body will find a way to numb itself."

She nodded. His fingers were working a kind of magic. She felt herself drift a bit, away from the pain and away from consciousness. She was exhausted, in actual fact. That bit of time awake had sapped her already low energy reserves. The more he rubbed her scalp, the more her thoughts seemed to scatter.

"I'm sorry, Leem," she mumbled. "I almost got you killed twice."

He laughed. The low vibration of it rolled over her like a soothing balm.

"Don't worry about it," his voice had begun to fade.

"But I screwed up, didn't I? I made a mess of things."

Lips feathered against her forehead again. "No, Kat, you did good."

His voice, a little more distant, was the last thing she heard before falling asleep.

"You did good."


	19. Chapter 19

_So, one more chapter for this, maybe? Anyone interested in Fil? I had this crazy idea to pair him with Sally or perhaps another OC? Message me and let me know. If I get enough requests in my inbox, I will do it._

* * *

Katherine hissed in a breath as her wheelchair bounced over the last transition on her way out of the hospital. Her ribs still ached even though several days had passed. She was probably going to have to get used to that because her broken rib wouldn't heal completely for months. She felt the motion of her conveyance come to a stop and then watched as the burly frame of Leem crouched down beside her. The sky was pink and gold behind him from the setting sun. It had the effect of casting his frame in shadow and making it look even larger than usual.

"Are you alright?" He asked with brows raised.

She nodded. Her tummy flip-flopped when their eyes met. Awkward didn't even begin to describe how she had felt every time she interacted with him. She found herself tongue-tied in his presence when she hadn't been before. His dark, jade eyes constricted as he searched her face. A muscle jumped in his jaw.

"Don't fib," he said gruffly, "I can see you're in pain."

"I'll survive," she replied softly, "I just need to go home, make some tea and lie back down."

Leem's eyes flicked away towards the parking lot a moment, then returned hesitantly. "I wasn't plannin' on taking you home. Well, that is, not back to your flat."

Katherine felt a pinch between her brows. "Why? D-Do you think I'm still in danger?"

He shook his head quickly. "No, erm, it's just . . . you need someone ta care for you while you recover. I –ah- I was hoping I could persuade you to come stay with me for a bit at my place near Chigwell."

Katherine swallowed. "That's not necessary."

He scowled. "Nah, it is. Look, it's no bother, Kat. Mycroft granted my request for extended leave so I really won't have anything else to do."

She rubbed her wrists anxiously.

"Extended leave . . . but can you afford that? I couldn't ask you to do that for me."

Leem's lips twitched up in a smirk as he shook his head slowly. "Kat, I'm rich as Croesus. I can afford to retire if I want. Fil's pretty good with his numbers, right? Well, you should see what he's done with our investments."

That was unexpected. "Oh."

She didn't know what to say. He surprised her at every turn. Of course, she had never cared if he had money or not so she had never asked. She assumed he was making similar wages to what she earned.

"Kat?" Leem prodded. "What do you say?"

"I-I just don't want to be an inconvenience-"

"You're not," he cut her off.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'll come but only if you really want me to-"

Leem cursed and rubbed a hand over his head. "I want you there. Stop bein' so stubborn."

Katherine would probably never be able to explain how hard it was for her to accept help. She had felt a burden on her father her whole life after her mother had abandoned them. Even though her dad never said anything to her, she had known from a very early age how stressful it had been on him to raise her alone. Even now, she could still envision his weary form hunched over their small kitchen table as he pulled at his brow while shuffling bills. She felt as if she were repeating the pattern being a pregnant invalid.

Before she could answer Leem, Fil rolled up in a Mercedes and hopped out. His large form strutted in their direction from around the driver's side as if he were quite pleased with himself. He grinned at them boyishly and gestured towards the car.

"Is that the same model Mercedes you mistakenly hired in Bratislava before Holmes set you right?" Leem asked as he stood up.

Fil nodded with a large smile and folded his arms over his chest. "Damn straight. Myc gave me 'is card again. I put it to good use."

Leem shook his head. "You and your rides."

Fil shrugged and glanced at Katherine. "You all ready, Dr. Adams? I packed you a bag from your place but if ya need anything else before we head south, just let me know. I can take you by some shops."

She frowned and turned her gaze to Leem. So much for having a say in whether she stayed with him or not. He skipped over to where she still sat in the wheelchair.

"Now don't get all belligerent," he mumbled in her ear as he pushed her towards the car. "I figured I'd be able ta convince you. Now, I don' want to hear anything more about it. You're mine . . . I mean, you're my responsibility and you're coming home with me."

Even in that moment, Leem's growly words made her belly quiver. Truth was, she wanted to go with him and she was too tired to resist her inclination any further, especially when he scooped her up out of her wheelchair. For a moment, she breathed in the faint woodsy smell of his aftershave. She closed her eyes and savored the weightless feel of being in his arms. She couldn't help but sigh in contentment.

"You're a funny one," Leem murmured into her hair. "I still don't know why you like me so much."

Katherine inhaled his scent again. "Hmm, I don't know. Maybe it's your genetics swimming through my bloodstream and infecting my brain."

He laughed and shook his head as he placed her into the back seat. She reclined back against the soft leather and bit her lip as she looked up at him. He was almost too pretty to look at with his rugged features and faint stubble. He leaned on the open door and the hood of the car as he watched her buckle her belt.

"Are you going to sit back here with me?" She asked nervously.

He glanced towards the front of the car as Fil climbed into the driver's seat. She heard him drum his fingers on the roof of the car. For a moment, his face shuttered. Then, his eyes slid back to hers and he twitched his brows.

"Yeah, what the hell? Just give me a sec to return the wheelchair."

A few short moments later, Leem settled into the seat beside her. Fil wrinkled his nose as he glared at them in the rearview mirror.

"Oy, I'm yer chauffer, am I?" He carped.

"Ah, shut it, Fil. Let's just get goin'," Leem directed. "We 'ave an hour's drive ahead of us."

Leem put his arm around Katherine and drew her head to his shoulder. She relaxed against his solid body in the dark of the backseat and snaked her arms around his torso. She didn't care if he didn't reciprocate her feelings in that moment. She was content to fantasize he was hers.

* * *

Leem hadn't been kidding when he had said he and Fil were well off. They actually co-owned an estate with a pair of ancient, thatched roof country houses staggered along a stretching drive behind an iron gate. Despite their age, each house appeared in immaculate condition and lovingly maintained. Fil's home was the first they encountered, a two story white-plastered cottage with spiraling chimneys that flanked either end. The house's diamond-shaped mullion windows twinkled at them as the car's headlamps passed. Katherine couldn't help but gape at its fairytale-like construct.

Leem's home was at the end of the drive and slightly larger, though possibly less ancient. It was more of an L-shaped, raw-cut stone building with larger rectangular patterned windows on the upper and lower floors. However, it too was ridiculously charming with three squat, clay chimneys poking out of the roof. Fil circled into the arcing drive and pulled to a stop out front of a the entry with its massive, weathered timber door.

"Need anything else tonight, bro?" Fil asked once he had deposited Katherine's bag on the front step.

"Nah, thanks, Fil. We'll see ya tomorrow."

Fil gave a wave before scooting into the car. Then, with a heave and a protesting creak, Leem swung open the door to his house for Katherine to enter. The inside of his home was similar to abodes of this style she had been in before with its plastered walls and exposed timbers along the low ceiling. Every piece of hand-made furniture looked cozy and eclectic. At the far end of the combination living, sitting and dining room was a massive stone hearth with a cast-iron forged wood stove sheltered within.

"Do you like it?" Leem's voice rumbled at her back.

Katherine nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh! Y-Yes, I do. It's exactly what a home should be."

She turned quickly, her face hot. Leem stood very close with his hands in the pockets of his worn-in jeans. His black tee strained across his chest. He seemed an odd fit for the place. He stood a mere foot or so beneath one of the massive beams in the ceiling, yet at the same time, he belonged.

"I'm glad ya think so," he studied her a moment before his brow creased. "Kat, I know getting shot can be traumatizin' and you have every right to be out of sorts but . . . you've been so skittish."

He looked askance a second and cleared his throat. "A-Are you afraid of me?"

Katherine's lips parted in surprise. "Afraid of you? No! Oh, crap, no. I am just, bloody nervous . . ."

He shook his head. "I don't understand. Why would I make you nervy now? What's changed?"

She couldn't help looking down towards her tummy. "Erm, well for one, you have always made me nervous but god, Leem, I'm so terrified of what you're thinking about this baby situation. Like, I feel like I've forced you into something you might not want."

He bobbed his head in thought. "I see."

Her heart palpitated. He stomach lurched. She couldn't read his face.

"You want to know what I really think?" He asked in a low tone.

She braced herself. "Um, I think so?"

He stepped forward and cupped the sides of her jaw. She felt a vibration in his powerful hands as he gazed down at her with his eyes flicking back and forth over her face.

"Katherine," he breathed her full name, "you havin' my baby excites me. Like, in a dirty, dirty kinda way."

Her eyes rounded. "Huh?"

He didn't reply. Instead, his mouth covered hers in a searing kiss. His plush lips insistently opened hers and his tongue stroked inside her mouth. She almost melted from the liquid hotness of it. His velvety probe continue to wreak havoc on her senses before he lifted his head with a groan.

"Christ, I'm sorry," he wheezed. "I don't mean to pounce on you but I've wanted to do that for days."

She licked her lips. Her insides were in raptures. It set off all sorts of tingling in her belly to know he was aroused by her being pregnant.

"S-So, does that mean you're okay with all this?" She whispered.

He nodded and kissed the end of her nose. "I'm ecstatic, Kat. I'm beside myself. I never thought I'd get a chance to be a dad. I never thought I deserved to be one at all, honestly. I know we are just gettin' to know each other, but I feel like I've waited for you my whole life, like you were what was missing. I don't even want to consider things going forward without you now, if that makes any sense at all. Damn! I'm fuckin' blubbering."

Tears stung her eyes as she slipped her hands around his abdomen and laid her head on his chest. His heart thumped steadily in her ear.

She sniffed. "No, you're not. You slay me with your words, Leem. You're going to make me cry."

He kissed her forehead and embraced her gently, careful not to squeeze too hard. "Don't do that. I don't tell you these things to be sad."

She hugged him until she felt a prickling pain along her ribs but she didn't care that they hurt. "I'm not. I'm definitely not."

Katherine closed her eyes and savored the moment. What a journey it had been. In facing death, she had found life. In passing through the lonliest moments of her existance, she had gained companionship and in searching for a destination, she had instead found a path without a horizon.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I love you, Leem," she sighed.

A chuckle rattled his chest. "Just pretty sure? That's not fair, I've loved you since you first got all sassy and made me feel like an utter arse."

She lifted her head. "Truly?"

"Yeah, Kat, 'course. You've been mine all along."


	20. Chapter 20

_Three months later._

"So, this is the infamous 221B Baker street," Katherine took Leem's hand.

He helped her from the back of one of London's black cabs as she gazed up at the home of Sherlock Holmes. Her nose scrunched as her eyes flitted from the small sandwich shop to the black door leading to the apartments upstairs. It was an overcast day, so typical of their weather, and the street was quiet. Leem raised a brow.

"What's that look for?" He asked as he tugged her against his hip.

Kat smiled. "It seems so modest."

He laughed. "Unlike Mr. Holmes?"

She shook her head. "Well, yes but actually, I was thinking of all the stories about him and this place that the papers like to print. I don't know . . . it's just so odd to finally see it in person. It's difficult to reconcile it as a real place."

Leem's hand slid around her waist and he kissed the top of her head. She sighed and closed her eyes a moment to savor the feel of his protective embrace. She still could not quite believe they were together at times and that she had a proper boyfriend. Not only was he her boyfriend, he was her dream man – sweet, fierce, loyal, and oh, so ruggedly handsome. She would deem him perfect except that he could never seem to shake his tendency to treat her as if she were in constant mortal peril. She could hardly get up to go to the bathroom (which was quite frequent in her pregnant state) without him jumping up to clear her path. Of course, she didn't tease him on the subject because she found it endearing and knew he was coping through hyper-vigilance.

Truth be told, Katherine empathized with him. She hardly knew what to do with herself. Sometimes, she found herself just giggling nervously for no reason because she was both giddy and terrified about what was to come. She had no reference for being a mother. She had never even babysat! What the heck was she going to do?

"Shall we?" Leem murmured into her hair.

"Yes, of course," Kat snapped from her trance. "I can't wait to see Molly again."

Once inside Baker Street, Katherine met the landlady Mrs. Hudson who chatted animatedly as she led them up the stairs to the Holmes' flat.

"Oh, wait until you see my little girl," Mrs. Hudson exclaimed as they reached the door. "She's beyond precious."

Katherine blinked. "Is she your granddaughter? I thought-"

The older woman shook her head vigorously and tittered. "No, but she may as well be. I have no children of my own, you see, so I've adopted the lot of them."

Katherine felt guilty then. She hadn't particularly liked Mr. Holmes when she first met him, thinking he was arrogant. Not to say that she still didn't think he was a bit of a prig, but underneath it all, he was an admirable man who seemed to ingratiate himself to the warmest, kindest and most generous people one could meet. Not only that, he had risked his life to help her. If she wasn't already head over heels for Leem Coley, she could very easily have developed a crush on the gorgeous detective. So, when she stepped into his flat and saw his radiant wife, she couldn't help feeling all was right with the world.

Well, all was right with Molly as she bounced a tiny bundle in her arms. Even though her hair was in a bit untidy in a loose bun and she still wore her pajamas and a dressing gown, but she had a bright look about her. Sherlock, however, stood off to one side staring into the distance with a slight frown on his face. He looked frozen in a just-awoke state with hair ruffled and dressing gown hanging from his frame like a drape. She half expected a breeze to come along and flap the hems about while he remained stationary.

"Oh, Leem! Katherine!" Molly said cheerfully, "How nice to see you. It seems an age since we last spoke."

Leem stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah, it's been too long. Sorry, Dr. Molly. Things 'ave been hectic."

Katherine gave her a hug, careful not to squish the sleeping baby in her arms. When she looked down, her breath caught. Swathed in a pink cotton blanket was a perfect little angel's face with the tiniest, pert, upturned nose. A soft down of reddish, brown hair adorned her perfectly round head. She was a miniature replica of Molly with a hint of Sherlock. As Katherine gazed upon the baby girl, her eyes began to sting. Then tears collected along her lids, making her vision swim. She sniffled.

"What's wrong?" Molly asked.

Katherine fanned her face to dry the tears threatening to spill. "Nothing, Molly, she's perfect, just perfect. I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful baby. Congratulations."

Molly smiled with a happy sheen in her eyes. "Thank-you. I think so too, but then, I'm biased. I'm her mother."

"As it should be," Leem agreed. "What is the little duck's name ?"

"Melisande Siger Holmes," Molly replied as she stroked the baby's cheek.

Leem scratched his head and folded his arms, straining the buttons of his shirt (nothing ever seemed to fit his muscular form quite right). "Siger? Isn't that Mycroft's middle name?"

Molly giggled. "Yes, lord, you should have seen his face when we told him!"

Katherine glanced over to Sherlock still standing in the corner. He reminded her of a mannequin and sculpted to appear as if it were trying to sort calculus equations in its head.

"Did he look anything like his brother?"

Molly laughed as her eyes flicked to her husband. "Erm, yes, actually, almost an identical expression. You will have to forgive Sherlock, though, he's done that a lot lately. I think he's having trouble processing all his eventualities now that Melly is in the picture."

Katherine tucked her lip in. The poor man and poor Molly! As if reading her thoughts, Molly waggled her free hand.

"Oh, don't fret. His little spells have their upside. I've been able to put Melly in his arms and then go grocery shopping with neither of them being cognizant of my absence. In fact, I much prefer this state to his more frantic episodes - like some of the experiments he's been conducting lately."

Leem's brows wrinkled. "Experiments?"

Molly's face turned pink. "Ah, um, you know Sherlock . . . he's skeptical about everything. Yesterday he was testing diapers against the claims they make on the tele. Then, of course, he just had to take it one step further. Let's just say, he's unimpressed with the tensile strength of the most popular nappy brand."

Katherine covered her mouth as she snorted a laugh. Unexpectedly, Sherlock roused from his meditative state.

"Diaper manufacturers make the most egregious assertions," he muttered. "However, I am more concerned with the outrageous prices of breast pumps. They are essentially aquarium pumps that have been flow reversed to provide suction. For a fraction of the cost I could build one-"

Molly pointed her finger at him. "No!"

The detective blinked at her several times. "What?!"

"I am not going to use a homemade breast pump," she waved at her chest with her free hand. "So, cease that line of thought immediately!"

He opened his mouth as if to speak again but she emphatically thrust her finger in his direction again. "No!"

He sputtered a sigh and threw up his hands. "I am officially useless then."

Molly jutted her lip out in a pout and then walked over to him. His lips twitched as he gazed down at his diminutive wife. Katherine suppressed a smile. She was starting to recognize Sherlock's ticks, especially the trace movements that revealed his profound admiration for Molly underneath his cool exterior.

"No, if anything, you are exceedingly proactive, my love," Molly murmured. "I could not ask for a better father for Melly."

Katherine looked over at Leem. He had an odd look on his face, he had blanched a bit. She nudged him with her elbow.

"What is it?" She whispered.

His eyes flicked to her and he flushed pink. "Um, sorry, Kat. I-ah, I just completely empathized wit' Mr. Holmes. Like, it's you girls who do all the work. How does a man even begin ta make up for it?"

Katherine tipped her head to his shoulder. "Misery loves company, don't you know?"

Sherlock's laser-like vision shot in their direction. "You empathize, Leem?"

Then Katherine felt his penetrating gaze turn to her. She silently begged him for once in his life not to reveal their secret. They were there for Molly and his new arrival. She didn't want to make the visit about her and Leem. The detective's eyes flitted to her abdomen then to his wife.

"Erm, well, I just realized I have been terribly rude in not receiving our guests properly. Would you like for me to make some tea?" He asked unexpectedly.

Molly's eyes widened as if she wasn't quite sure she was dreaming or not. "Oh, yes, I think we would all appreciate that very much."

Leem cleared his throat. "I'll help, Mr. Holmes."

So, a consulting detective, a pathologist, a MI6 agent and a math professor sat down and visited over a cup of tea as if they were the most average of couples. Yet, their hopes and dreams for their futures weren't so different from most people. Sherlock seemed enthusiastic about all the things he was going to teach his daughter while Molly smiled lovingly at him. It was a wonderful few moments of normalcy, well, as normal as it could get for their lot. Leem and the detective exchanged tales of work. Katherine detailed her latest project tracking down a modern day Robin Hood hacker. Molly speculated about new research avenues her daughter had inspired her to pursue.

After their visit to Baker Street, Leem and Katherine decided to go for a walk in Regent's Park. The leaves in the park were just beginning to change colour for autumn. Leem held her close to his side until they happened upon a free bench and sat down across from the pond near Boating Lake. Oddly, the entire park appeared to have emptied in the waning dusk. Then Katherine noticed Leem's foot jumping next to her as he stared out over the water.

"What's on your mind?" She prodded.

He looked at her, his hands clasped on his lap and his handsome face a mask of uncertainty. "I . . . shite, Kat. I've been carrying something around for a month, not knowing if I should present it to you or not. Now I know I want to, 'cause I realized something today after visitin' Molly and Sherlock."

She blinked at him in surprise. "Ooookay?"

He rubbed a hand over his super-short hair. "See, I think if they can make it work, you know, and Mr. Holmes' job is pretty dangerous . . . then we can make it work. I mean, it seems so simple now. It's not one or the other, or it doesn't have to be."

Katherine covered his hand to stop it from jittering on his lap. "Well, it's rather not a choice anymore, is it? For better or worse, we're stuck with each other."

His left eyelid fluttered. "Do you want to be stuck with me? Like, officially?"

She laughed nervously. "Wh-What are you on about?"

Leem fished a small box from his pocket and scooted from the bench. Katherine felt all blood drain from her face. Her mouth fell open.

"Dr. Katherine Adams," he began softly. "My Kat. I know you're gonna think I'm cracked but I don't need another year or two or ten to know that I want you to be my partner. I look at you and I see everything, everything I think I was workin' towards that I didn't know was out there waiting for me and you don't need ta be Mrs. Coley or give up anything. I don't want a single thing about you to change. Hell, I'll even be Mr. Adams if you'll have me. I'll quit my job and clean your whiteboards. I'll take paternity leave and you can keep working. Whatever it takes if I can call you mine."

Happy tears ran down her cheeks as she looked down to see a thick gold band inlaid with diamonds and an unusual sparkling gem stone that reflected flecks of blue, green and black as its centerpiece.

"Ah, um, I hope this is a good enough bribe. It's a black opal from Slovakia. I-I thought you might like it."

"It's beyond g-gorgeous, Leem, my word," She stammered. "Are you asking me to m-marry you?"

He nodded then raised anxious eyes to hers. "Yes, and I've never been so terrified in my life. Please, c-can I be your husband?"

"Yes, oh my God, yes," Katherine dove forwards into his arms. "You daft man, I don't want you to change either. I love you."

He squeezed her tightly and once her hiccupping tears waned, he slipped the ring on her finger as she sat on his lap.

"What do ya think?" He asked gruffly.

She smiled and kissed him quickly. "It's perfect."

He nodded absentmindedly as he fiddled with it. "Yeah, and also, it'll be more than obvious to any git who looks yer way, so there's that."

She held it up, her nose scrunched as she examined it then looked to his bare hand. "Hmm, I might have to get you an engagement ring of your own, you know, now that you're promised to me. I can't have any other women thinking they have a chance with my future Mr. Adams."

A proud smirk tugged his lips upwards. "Don't worry, they don't. I love you, Kat. Just you."

His green eyes darkened when he looked at her again. "It'll always be you."


End file.
